Revelations
by Neuropsych
Summary: COMPLETE Secrets are hard to keep but Ian's not the only one who has some... Rated for language, violence and oh yeah... there'll be some mush, I'm sure eventually
1. 01

**Revelations **

_Author's Note: So! Here it is… a new Campers! Story. Even better, it's going to answer some questions – and bring out some revelations that I know you guys have been waiting to see come out. So you'll just have to read along to see what happens._

_Disclaimer: I don't own SG-1 or the SGC or those people, but I do have claim on Jaffer, Jack (the dog) and all other people I make up for this story (and don't forget Jake!)_

_That said, here we go!_

OOOOOOOOOO

"How much longer, Daniel?"

The archeologist looked up from the wall he was crouched next to, one hand holding the paper across the chiseled lettering, the other holding the pencil he was using to do the rubbings with.

"I'm almost done, Jack."

"Good, 'cause it looks like it might rain, and just once I'd like to go through a whole mission with_out _getting rained on."

"Or falling off a cliff," Ian added, coming over to look down and check on Daniel's progress.

Jack nodded.

"That, too."

Ian had never actually been on a mission where they'd fallen off a cliff, but he'd read all their mission reports by now, and there had been more than one where that had happened.

"I can't go any faster than I'm going, Jack. And if you keep pestering me, it'll just slow me down."

"I'm not pestering you."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Ian."

"Yeah, Daniel?"

"Make Jack leave me alone."

Ian snorted, and moved away, walking over to where Jaffer had been standing, watching a stand of trees not far away. The area was cleared – they never would have relaxed their guard so much if it weren't – and this was the second day they'd spent by this particular set of ruins. Daniel had been working hard to get everything down on paper so he could transfer it to computers back at the SGC during the upcoming weekend, and while Jack knew and understood that, it didn't make standing around any easier. Which was why he was going out of his way to annoy Daniel. It was something to do besides watch.

"What's going on, big dog?" Ian asked, idly, slapping Jaffer's side as he came up beside him. The lab snorted, snuffling his hand for a moment by way of greeting and then turned his attention back to the trees.

His nose was in the air, testing the wind, and his body was tense, but there was no sign of warning or agitation in the lab's stance, so Ian knew whatever it was that had Jaffer's attention, it wasn't something dangerous. At least nothing that Jaffer perceived as dangerous. He didn't read Jaffer's body language anywhere near as easily as Jack and Sam could, but Ian had a lab, too, and knew them well enough to know when they were worried. Jaffer wasn't.

Sure enough, a moment later a blonde form came streaking out of the trees, heading over towards Jaffer and Ian at a full run. Only a moment behind Jack (the dog) came Teal'c, holding his staff weapon easily and looking over his shoulder for just a moment before walking towards Ian as well.

"See anything?" Ian asked.

"There is nothing to see."

Which had pretty much been what he'd expected to hear.

"There have to be people here," Jack said, coming over and joining them. Obviously he'd annoyed Daniel enough and had decided to give him a break – or maybe Daniel had driven him away with techno speak or something. "We saw the tracks…"

"We're leaving tracks, too," Ian said, shrugging. "But we're not going to be here long." He hoped. "Maybe it's someone who just came by to see if there was anyone living here and left when they didn't find anyone."

"We didn't see any tracks by the gate…"

"I know."

"We have looked everywhere in the vicinity, O'Neill… and have not found anything. There is no one around."

"I _know_."

He did know. If there were anyone around Jaffer would have told them by now. But Jack didn't like the fact that they'd found footprints without the foot to go with them. Or he might have just been paranoid, he supposed. Time to change the subject, he supposed, before he allowed himself to go crazy.

"What are you getting Cassie for graduation?"

Ian scowled at the reminder.

"I still have _weeks_…"

Jack smiled.

"Meaning you don't have a _clue_…?"

"What are _you_ getting Sam for Mother's day?"

Jack's smile faded into a scowl.

"I still have…"

"A_ day and a half_."

"Smart ass."

Ian smiled.

"So… you don't have a _clue_…?"

"Of _course_ I do… I'm just not… going to tell you. It's a surprise."

"Yes, I'm sure I'll be very surprised."

"What are you getting _your_ mom for Mother's day, smart ass?"

"I already got it for her and sent it off. Dad will get it tomorrow and will have it on the tray he gives her breakfast in bed on on Sunday morning."

"He's giving her breakfast in bed?"

Ian smiled.

"He does it every year. For a while it was the only day we could be guaranteed he'd be home."

There was still a faint trace of bitterness in Ian's voice at the thought, but it wasn't anywhere near as bitter as it once would have been, and Jack ignored it.

"So what did you get her?"

"It's a _surprise_…"


	2. 02

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Ian," Jack said. "You're _supposed_ to get something sappy for your mom for Mother's Day. It's the rule."

"I'm not _embarrassed_, Jack."

"So what did you get her?"

Ian smiled and shook his head.

"If you _must_ know…"

"I must."

"I got her a-"

Just then a shadow fell over them as something above them blocked out the already fading sun for a moment. All three of the humans – and the two dogs – looked up. Just in time to see a Goa'uld Death Glider disappearing behind the tops of some of the nearby trees and vanishing into a growing cloudbank.

"Holy _shit_!"

Immediately they all ran back the way they'd come. Not only because Daniel was back there – alone – but also because it was the most cover they'd be able to find, and who knew how many more there were?

"Think he saw us?" Jack asked rhetorically as they ran through the brush.

"If he was looking down he probably did," Ian answered. "It wasn't like we were hiding."

"Indeed."

The three of them hadn't been all that far from Daniel, and were now at the far end of the wall the archeologist had been crouched by. Daniel looked up at the noise they made pelting in, his eyes suddenly wary.

"I'm _not_ done, yet, Jack."

"You're done," O'Neill answered. "Get your stuff."

Jack reached down and picked up the P90 that was leaning against the wall where Daniel had set it earlier.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked, standing up and shouldering his pack, and then taking the weapon from Jack.

"We're not alone," Ian said, looking up again. There was a canopy of trees overhead, now, though and he couldn't see anything. "Do we break for the gate?"

Jack scowled.

"They probably have the gate covered…" he said, looking at Teal'c for confirmation.

The Jaffa nodded.

"If it is a simple patrol, they will have left a couple of Jaffa to guard the Stargate in case they come upon something or someone that is too dangerous for them to handle alone. Those at the Stargate can dial out and call for assistance – or can dial out in the event the others need to retreat without delay."

"And if they somehow know we're here…?" Jack asked.

"Then they will have the Stargate heavily guarded against the possibility of us escaping."

"That's a comforting thought," Daniel said, realizing what they were discussing, even though know one had actually answered him. He looked up as well, even though he already knew they wouldn't be able to see anything. "What did you see?"

"A Death Glider."

"Where there's one, there are probably more…"

"Yeah." Jack looked at the others. "We don't know for sure they know we're here," he said. "So we're going to head for the gate nice and easy. Listen for anything out of the ordinary, be as quiet as you can, and stay under the trees – just in case they do another flyby. Jaffer and I have point; Teal'c, you take rear with Jack."

That would leave Daniel and Ian in the safest possible spot, and would utilize the dogs' much better senses to warn them in the event of a foot patrol trying to sneak up behind them or coming at them from the front.

They formed up quickly and headed out, moving as quietly as they could in the heavy brush and undergrowth along the trees. The Stargate was a little over two miles from their position – something that hadn't bothered any of them until just then – and it suddenly felt like twenty, but none of them were panicked. Just cautious. While it was pretty certain they'd been seen – none of them had even thought to expect trouble from above after two days of seeing no one on the planet – they weren't in the same place they'd been when the glider had done the flyby and with the dogs, they wouldn't be easy to sneak up on in any event. Besides, there was always the chance they hadn't been seen, and the patrol would be there and gone by the time they reached the gate.

Small chance, of course.

By the time they'd gone the first mile, the rain that Jack had noticed coming before had started to fall. Lightly at first and then with a lot more vigor, it was more than simply annoying to the small group, it was definitely a disadvantage. Although it would cut down on the visibility for those who might be flying above them, it would also cut down on their own visibility, the noise of the rainwater hitting the trees above them was almost deafening and left them unable to listen for the sound of approaching patrols. They would have to rely more heavily on the dogs, now, and because of that, Jack lagged back just a bit to keep Ian and Daniel closer – and to give Teal'c and Jack (the dog) a chance to get closer as well.

He gestured for them to slow down a little, and their already slow progress turned into a crawl. Even though no one liked getting rained on – and even under the heavy cover of the trees it didn't take them long to become soaked – they liked the idea of becoming separated even less. They were far enough apart that they couldn't all be caught in the same ambush – if one were coming – and close enough that they could come to each other's aid if it were needed.

It took them another hour to make the second mile – an incredibly long time for all of them – and by now the sky was truly starting to darken around them, even though it was mid-morning. Which took away yet another advantage they'd had, since the undergrowth was now different shades of gray and tossing out shadows that were definitely making it hard to tell one thing from the other.

Because of that, it was no surprise that the dogs were the first to realize something was up. Jack had been watching Jaffer more than he'd been watching where he was going, and when the black lab's head came up, and then jerked around behind them with a sudden snarl, the Colonel reacted immediately.

"_Down_!"

Without asking, everyone dropped to the wet ground instantly, and a staff blast struck a tree only a foot above Ian's head, wounding the large trunk and sending a tremor through the tree that left leaves falling even harder than the rain.

"Shit!"

Ian rolled to his right, aware that there was more cover that direction, and as he did so, Jack (the dog) leaped over him, a flash of blonde that was snarling a warning to those trying to sneak up on them.

"Ian!"

"I'm okay."

He turned toward the direction the staff blast had come from, and jerked his P90 around. Unsure exactly which direction Daniel had gone, he didn't dare fire, but he was ready if a target presented itself. And a moment later, one did.

The Jaffa rose up out of nowhere it seemed, but although Ian's reflexes were quick, Jack's were even better, and the lab had the better position to attack from. The hand that held the staff weapon was suddenly ripped open, and a muffled cry of pain accompanied the snarl the yellow dog gave, and the staff weapon fell to the ground with a soft plop. An instant later, a P90 was fired in a short burst from Jack's general direction, and the Jaffa dropped.

"Watch out!"

Several more Jaffa came into the small area, staff weapons firing so quickly that they almost seemed to be firing automatic – although Ian knew that was impossible. It was a sign of just how many were there, though, and suddenly what had been a simple attempt to get back to the Stargate was a melee of the worst magnitude.


	3. 03

It was Ian's first firefight. Not his first life or death struggle, obviously, but the first time he'd actually gone up against a group of Jaffa who were determined to kill him. Him and all those around him.

To his credit, he didn't freeze up in the face of that fight. He also didn't just randomly start blasting away at the first thing that moved in front of him, either. Which was a good thing, since the first thing that moved in front of his field of fire was Jaffer, who slunk through the area like a dark shadow, already choosing a target and completely ignored by the Jaffa, who were aiming for the humans of the group and had unwittingly ignored the two deadliest members of the team.

A cry of pain sounded over the staff blasts and ended with a gurgling sound. Jack knew it to mean that Jaffer had scored a kill, since Jack (the dog) almost always went for the hands or legs, while Jaffer invariably went for the throat. A moment later there was another pained yelp, and Jack knew the dogs were doing their job. Now it was time for him to do his.

He raised the P90 in his hands, sighted in on the first Jaffa that the dogs flushed out of cover and dropped him in a spray of bullets. An instant later there was answering fire from the other side – somewhere near where Jack had seen Daniel diving for cover. A moment after that, a staff blast tore through the armored chest of one of the Jaffa, proving that Teal'c was alive and well. Which only left one member unaccounted for – the one he was most worried about.

Firing again – and dropping yet another Jaffa – Jack moved out from the covered position he had and dove towards the last place he'd seen Ian. In front of him a Jaffa rose up, staff weapon aimed at him, but an instant later Jaffer was there, his teeth flashing and his considerable weight dragging the Jaffa down before the warrior could even realize that he'd lost sight of his target. Jaffer shook his head, effectively ripping the Jaffa's throat out and blood sprayed everywhere. Jack didn't even notice; he'd already rolled out of the way and behind the closest tree.

"Ian!"

"Here."

The voice was a lot closer than Jack had expected, and he turned to see that Ian had actually been covering him as he'd rolled – although it was obvious the boy hadn't dared fired with Jaffer all over the Jaffa. Something Jack appreciated immensely.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Stay down, and follow me."

He whistled sharply, drawing Jaffer's attention, and the lab joined him and Ian as well. They headed for a small rock-strewn area surrounded by trees. A moment later, Teal'c and Daniel both came diving into the area, with Jack (the dog) hot on Teal'c's heels. A staff blast erupted overhead, and Daniel rose up just enough to fire back before hiding behind a tree once more.

"What's the plan?" He asked Jack, water dripping off the end of his nose.

"The plan is to get the hell out of here – with our asses intact."

"Good plan."

Jack looked around them, trying to get a feel for how far from the gate they were – and how many Jaffa were still out there. The rain was covering any noise they might be making as they snuck up on the team, but the dogs would hear them and give them warning – which gave them a chance to regroup. He looked at Teal'c.

"How far from the gate would you say we are?"

"A few hundred feet at the most."

Which was about what he'd been thinking, too. It wouldn't take them long to cover the distance, but it would take a bit of effort – especially since the area around the gate was free of any trees or even rocks as Jack could recall. Which meant they needed to clear the Jaffa out before they broke cover.

Jaffer growled softly just then, and everyone turned to look the same direction he was. Jack (the dog) moved up to stand protectively next to Teal'c, who couched lower, but brought his staff weapon to bear.

"We need to take the fight to them," Jack said. He looked at Ian. "Stay here and cover us as well as you can, but watch for the dogs."

Ian nodded. He would have argued about being left in the safest position, but this wasn't the time to argue, and there really wasn't a guarantee that this was the safest position. Instead, he brought his P90 up, in a similar manner that Teal'c had raised his staff weapon, and motioned that he was ready.

"Daniel, you go right, with Teal'c and Jack. Jaffer and I'll take left. We'll try to flank them and-"

Jaffer snarled as a Jaffa suddenly came out of nowhere, his approach masked by the darkness and the rain. Ian's P90 fired instantly, at the same time Teal'c's staff weapon went off, and the Jaffa tumbled back without a sound.

"Go!" Jack hissed, waving Daniel and Teal'c off to their position. He looked at Ian. "When I call you, you make for the DHD as quick as you can, understand?"

"I'll be there, Jack."

O'Neill nodded. He didn't have any doubt.

"And keep your head down, god damn it."

"Yes, sir."

Satisfied, Jack gestured to Jaffer and the lab led the way out from behind the trees and rocks. A moment later Ian heard gunshots and staff blasts coming from all directions. He raised up, moving away from the cover of the trees so he could get a better view, and immediately spotted a dark shape moving in behind the position Daniel and Teal'c had disappeared. Knowing it wasn't Jaffer made it easy. Ian simply fired and picked the Jaffa off from behind. The man dropped, and Ian scanned the area for another target before he could start to think about what he'd just done.

There was a volley of gunfire from Jack's position and several snarls that even the rain couldn't cover. Ian pointed his P90 that direction, but wasn't anywhere near close enough to be of any help. He moved a little forward, but was careful to stay close to where Jack expected him to be, knowing that it would be easy to mistake him for someone else in the dark and definitely not wanting to get shot if he could avoid it.

"Ian! Go!"

The shout startled him, coming far sooner than he'd expected it to, and Ian lurched to his feet, stumbling through the dark towards the DHD, which was just to the right of the Stargate. Of course, he couldn't see either the gate or the DHD, but he knew they were there. He'd find them if he just made sure to run the right way. Sure enough, after only a minute or two at a full run – expecting to be shot down any moment, especially when he stumbled out of the brush and into the clearing – he saw the dark form of the Stargate looming above him. Gun up in front of him, he sprinted for the DHD, and slapped his hand down on the first symbol so hard he was surprised he didn't knock the damned thing over.

Slap slap slap slap! He dialed the coordinates for the SGC as quickly as he could, and entered his own GDO signal, then turned, crouching and watching.

"Go!" He yelled.

Jaffer was the first to break cover, and the black lab scrambled towards him, while Ian covered the clearing with his P90. Before the lab was halfway to him, Jack and Daniel both came out of cover as well, Jack firing his machine gun towards his left, but Daniel just running hell bent for leather. He and Teal'c had cleared the Jaffa in their area, and were ready to go. A moment later, Jack (the dog) came into view as well, obviously guarding Daniel's retreat as he ran behind the archeologist, and Teal'c joined the dog only a few moments after that, firing his staff weapon the same direction Jack was firing his P90 – although Teal'c couldn't see what they were firing at.

From his position by the DHD, Ian was the only one looking toward the rear, and he was the only one who saw the four Jaffa coming as well. He raised the P90, firing over the others and at the enemy, and one fell instantly. Daniel turned and fired also, dropping another, but as Jack turned to see what was happening, one of the remaining Jaffa fired, and the staff blast caught O'Neill directly in the chest, knocking him to the side like he'd been hit with a hammer.

"Jack!"

Ian's P90 fired – and jammed – and the cadet tossed it to the side and pulled out his Glock, firing at the Jaffa as he ran to the fallen Colonel's side. He didn't see if he'd hit any of them; he was too intent on Jack to even look, but Teal'c and Daniel both saw Jack fall as well, and a volley of P90 fire and Teal'c's staff weapon fire sounded, dropping the other two instantly.

"Shit!"

Even through his Kevlar vest, the staff blast that hit Jack had done considerable damage. Ian swore again, and looked up seeing Daniel and Teal'c both coming towards him. Pushing Jaffer aside, he pulled his glove off, tore open the remains of Jack's shirt baring his bloody and battered chest and rested his palm on it, sinking quickly into a partial trance as he started to use that healing ability to check out O'Neill's condition. And found himself in a three-way bond. Himself. Jack. _And Jaffer_.

He stared at the dog for a moment, but the faltering heartbeat under his hand pulled him out of his shock, and Ian turned his full attention to the task at hand. Jack was unconscious and barely breathing. Worse, the staff wound had crushed his sternum and splintered bone fragments had pierced the aorta, causing massive bleeding. Ian took all that in in an instant, and started healing the severed blood vessels before he could do anything else.

He was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't see the danger. And while Jaffer normally would have protected him, the big lab was just as distracted as he was. From the left, a rustle in the wet brush was the only warning there was, and it wasn't enough. A Jaffa rose up, clearing the cover, and fired his own staff weapon at the boy who had been foolish enough to hold still long enough to become a target.

"Ian!"

Ian turned at the sound of his name, and Daniel and Teal'c were both close enough to see the danger now, but they hadn't had the right angle. Not until it was far too late. As Ian was slammed backwards to the muddy ground, they both fired their weapons at the Jaffa, killing him instantly. But the damage had been done.


	4. 04

Sam O'Neill had just finished nursing Jacob and had settled him down for a nap in the basinet in the corner of her lab. She didn't hear the alarms that blared through out the complex when the Stargate activated. One of the first things that Jack had done was disconnect them in the lab so that every time a team returned to the SGC it wouldn't wake up their son if he was sleeping – or disturb him otherwise. The first inkling Sam had that something was up was when there was a light knock on the door of her lab, and an Airman stuck her head in.

"SG-1's returning, ma'am."

Sam smiled.

"Thank you."

She left Jacob where he was sleeping – he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon and there wasn't anything on the base that could possibly hurt him, and a couple dozen well-armed soldiers who would make sure it stayed that way – and headed for the control room.

And found things were fairly tense there.

The iris was opened and the gate was engaged, and everyone was watching it, but there was something wrong, she knew.

"What's up, sir?" She asked Hammond, who was standing by the dialing computer.

"The gate dialed in about five minutes ago, and we received SG-1's code, but no one's come through, yet."

Sam frowned, feeling the first stabs of concern.

"That's odd."

"We can't go check on them, because we can't dial out with the gate engaged…" Something he didn't need to tell her since she knew more about the Stargate than pretty much anyone on the planet. "So we're stuck waiting…"

The door slid open to the room down below and Janet Fraiser emerged with a trauma team in tow.

"That's just a precaution," Hammond said, following Sam's gaze. "We're not sure what's-"

"I understand, sir."

But it didn't make her feel any less worried all of the sudden. She decided she'd rather go wait with Janet, and excused herself, heading for the door and the staircase beyond. The moment she came through the door, however, the first forms began to emerge from the Stargate, and Sam gave an involuntary gasp of concern when she saw them.

Jack (the dog) was the first through. The yellow lab was drenched, mute testimony that the team had run into inclement weather – and was literally dripping water from his blonde fur. He was also spattered in blood, and had his lips pulled back in a silent snarl until he realized where he was. Then his tail came up as he trotted down the ramp, looking over his shoulder expectantly. Everyone else in the room followed his gaze.

A moment later Daniel came staggering through the gate as well, Ian's limp form draped over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and Jaffer right behind him. Before anyone could even register what they were seeing, Teal'c emerged right after, with Jack cradled in his powerful arms like a child. All of them were soaked, but as they thundered down the ramp and Janet and her medics surged forward to meet them, it was Jack and Ian who drew the most attention, because Jack was covered in blood and Ian was just as still.

"What happened?" Janet asked, gesturing for Teal'c to put O'Neill on a gurney, and pushing Sam gently away when the Major tried to crowd over to see how bad the injury was. Not surprising anyone, Jaffer jumped up onto the gurney as well, and gave a silent warning snarl to the first medic that reached for his collar to pull him off.

"We ran into some trouble," Daniel said, easing Ian down onto yet another gurney. Immediately medics gathered around, already starting to rip off the remains of the cadet's Kevlar vest to see the extent of the damage to his chest.

"A Jaffa patrol – probably several – came upon us while we were finishing the exploration of the ruins. They were guarding the Stargate when we attempted to escape," Teal'c added, stepping to the side and pulling Jack (the dog) with him to keep him out from underfoot.

It was all Fraiser needed to know. She had already decided that the wound on O'Neill's chest was caused by a staff weapon. Teal'c's quick report just confirmed it.

"Let's get them to the infirmary," she said to her medical teams. Looking at Sam, her eyes softened just a tad. "I'll let you know as soon as I can, Sam."

Sam nodded, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched the gurneys being pushed out of the room, Jaffer still in position at Jack's feet and looking as if even nothing was going to move him.

"It'll be okay," Daniel said, moving over and standing beside her, putting his arm around her waist for support and comfort.

She simply nodded again, unable to speak around the terrified lump in her throat.

"Let's go, people," Hammond said, moving into the room as well and coming over to stand close by. "Teal'c, Doctor Jackson, I want the two of you to get checked out and then be ready to debrief. Major O'Neill…" he reached out and took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze before releasing her. "You stay with them."

That would put her close to the infirmary so she'd know what was going on, and would also keep her close to Daniel and Teal'c, who would be the most comfort to her.

Sam nodded and followed Daniel and Teal'c out of the room, with Jack (the dog) close on their heels, and Hammond watched them go, feeling as helpless as he knew Sam felt just then.

OOOOOOO

The infirmary was bustling with activity, but by the time Sam and the others made it into the main room, Fraiser had already whisked Jack into surgery, and the bed Ian had been transferred to was surrounded by a team of medics as well. No one had time to stop and talk just then, and Sam and them didn't dare interrupt to ask.

"Ian didn't look all that bad," Daniel said, softly, looking at the group clustered around that bed. "At least, he didn't seem to be bleeding…"

"And Jack?" Sam asked.

Daniel shook his head.

"It didn't look good… but I'm not a doctor – not that kind of doctor, anyways – so I could be wrong." He hoped he was, anyways.

Sam sank down on a waiting bench; grateful at least that no one was kicking her out of the infirmary. She wanted – _needed_ – to be close by. Daniel and Teal'c sat down as well, one on either side of her, flanking her and ready to keep vigil with her. A moment later, there was a soft whine, and Jack (the dog) stuck his wet muzzle into Sam's hand, obviously aware of her worry and like all labs, desperate to alleviate it. Sam leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the soaked blond head and buried her face in his neck.


	5. 05

Waiting was something they were all used to. It came with the job, after all. Waiting to hear word on the health of one of your companions, team members or friends was just as commonplace, unfortunately, and Sam, Daniel and Teal'c had all waited to hear how one or the other was doing at one point or time in their time together. But having gone through it before never made waiting any easier, and for Sam it was pure agony that she never would have been able to bear if not for the solid comfort of those around her, waiting with her.

They didn't even acknowledge that they were soaking wet, even when Sam suggested she'd be okay while they went and Changed into dry clothes, Teal'c had merely informed her that he would dry, and Daniel had replied that he was already drying and there was no sense in changing. She wasn't fooled, and was grateful for their continued company as the long hours slowly slipped passed.

Sam left the room only once, and that was to get Jacob from her lab. Cradling her son – _Jack's son_ – she cuddled him close as she returned to her place between Daniel and Teal'c, and although he'd been woken up by her coming to get him, Jake was a quiet comfort to her as he chewed on his hand while they waited.

After three hours had passed – maybe a little more, since Sam hadn't looked at the clock when she'd first sat down – a medic came up to them. It wasn't Janet, who had been last seen following Jack's gurney into the operating room, so they knew immediately that this news would be about Ian.

"How is he?" Daniel asked before the doctor could speak.

"It could have been a lot worse…" the doctor sounded and looked tired, but there was a satisfied expression on his face that told them all Ian was probably going to be fine. "The staff blast hit him at an angle, and the vest he was wearing took a lot of the force. He's broken a couple of ribs, but they didn't hurt any organs, and he has a concussion, but we're fairly certain he'll be fine in a couple of days. All the tests and x-rays came out clean."

"That's good news."

The doctor nodded.

"He got off easy, all things considered. Like I said; it could have been much worse. We're going to put him in ICU for now – until he wakes up and assures us that he's really as well off as we think he is."

"Can we see him?" Sam asked.

"Not yet. He's out cold right now."

She didn't argue, and it was a measure of how worried she was about Jack that she didn't press to see Ian just then. He was going to be okay, and that was good enough for her – for then. Now, she needed to be close by so she could hear about Jack when Janet was finished.

"Any idea how Colonel O'Neill's doing?" Daniel asked. Sam was grateful to him, because she hadn't had the courage to ask herself.

The doctor shook his head, giving Sam a sympathetic glance as he did so.

"I haven't heard, I'm sorry."

She nodded, and the doctor excused himself to go make sure Ian was being comfortably settled. Sam sighed, and once more felt Daniel's arm around her.

"He's in good hands."

"I know."

More to take her mind off her worry – although that really wasn't going to happen – she changed the subject slightly.

"What happened?"

Since Daniel wasn't really sure how everything had started – he'd been minding his own business doing the rubbings, after all – he turned to Teal'c to let him answer. With his usual deep, gravelly voice, Teal'c gave a succinct version of the events on the planet – right up until Jack had been shot, and ending with Ian kneeling down beside him and being shot himself.

"It was fortunate the blow was only a glancing one," Teal'c said.

Daniel nodded his agreement.

"Ian wasn't even moving. He was completely focused on Jack…"

Which wasn't to say that he'd frozen – although it was sort of what it had looked like. It wouldn't have been the first time someone had froze in a firefight, after all, and they all knew Ian was young and inexperienced – no matter how intelligent he was and how well trained he'd been for just such an event. It happened.

Sam leaned back against the wall, and listened as Teal'c told her about him and Daniel picking up their injured teammates and carrying them through the gate, but her attention was immediately drawn to a door that opened at the other end of the room. Janet Fraiser, her surgical scrubs liberally smeared with blood – and Sam knew whose blood it was – was walking their way.

Sam stood up, holding Jacob close. The baby had fallen asleep once more while Teal'c had been reporting events to Sam, but he opened his eyes when he felt himself being lifted.

"How is he?" Sam asked, only vaguely aware that Teal'c and Daniel had stood as well.

Janet only hesitated for an instant, but in that instant, Sam already heard the answer as clearly as if she'd screamed it aloud.

"It's not good, Sam…" She said, softly. "His sternum is shattered, and it's a miracle that he's even alive. The splintered bones should have shredded his aorta and he should have bled to death before they got him through the gate."

"But he didn't…"

Sam was grasping at any hope she could – faint as it was.

"No. But there was evidence of heavy internal bleeding, even though I couldn't find any." She paused, and shrugged. "It's close Sam. He's lost a lot of blood and had several internal injuries. I've patched him up as well as I can… but… we'll just have to wait and see. He's come through worse."

It was the only hope she could honestly give, because even though Sam was her best friend, she'd never lie to her to keep her from the truth.

"Can I see him?"

Janet nodded.

"They're moving him to the ICU room right now…"

"Here, Sam," Daniel said, reaching out his hands. "I'll keep an eye on Jake while you go see Jack."

She nodded, wordlessly, knowing that the ICU was no place to take the infant, and handed him over to Daniel, who cuddled him carefully. Then she turned and nodded to Janet, and the doctor led her back the ways she'd come.


	6. 06

_He was well aware of the pain, but it was in some far off place just then, lurking close enough that he always knew it was there waiting, but dulled slightly by medications and his own very real exhaustion. Exhaustion that he welcomed, because he really wasn't looking forward to waking up any time soon, knowing that the pain was waiting for him. _

_Then suddenly the pain and exhaustion were completely overwhelmed by the very real and overpowering presence that was Alexander. He didn't actually dull the pain; he simply overcame it for the moment, and Ian was infused with a warm feeling of friendship and familiarity, tinged lightly with concern._

"_I need your help."_

_Despite the warm gooey feeling he was swamped with, Ian scowled._

"_I'm fine, Alexander, thank you. How are you?"_

_Now the presence he was feeling was lightly shadowed by chagrin, and a touch of impatience._

"_Jack's hurt."_

"_I know. I-"_

"_You need to finish what you started."_

"_I'm tired…"_

_And he hurt, but he wasn't going to admit that._

_Alexander didn't have time to bully – and he didn't need to. He paid attention just as well as anyone, and although he wasn't all that close to Ian, he was close enough to know where his heart lay._

"_Sam needs Jack whole, and only you can do it."_

_Damn it. Ian didn't sigh – although he wanted to. And he didn't cry – although he felt like doing that, too. It would have been so easy to sleep while he healed and be far from that pain that was lurking, but now-_

"_I'm sorry, Ian…" Alexander told him, and Ian knew he meant it. "But it's serious, and I can't keep him stable much longer. If I had the choice, I'd let you sleep for a week. But he doesn't have that long."_

_Ian nodded, and took a deep breath. _

And a lancing pain shot through his chest, jolting him awake as the deep breath forced his broken ribs to rub against each other. He gasped, his breath coming short to keep his lungs from expanding any further and hurting himself more. Opening his eyes hurt, too, but not as much as the aches in his chest and head. His chest more than anything. Ian stared up at the white ceiling, his hand moving to run along his side. He felt the bandages, and knew they were tight to protect broken ribs and who knew what else. Another breath, this one while he tried to gather his courage to move when lying still was so much kinder.

Forcing himself to move, he sat up before he could chicken out, and pain swamped over him in a wave that threatened to knock him flat. His vision turned dark for just a moment, and then blurry, and finally settled back to normality.

"Steady…"

A voice from beside him caused him to turn his head, wincing as he did. He saw a medic standing beside the bed he was in, obviously startled and looking a little concerned by how quickly he'd come to and had sat up. Ian ignored him. Beyond the medic, he'd seen another bed, this one with Jack laying it in. Jaffer was there as well, the black lab sprawled at Jack's side, his head up and watching Ian. Sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed, looking over at him with eyes red from crying, was Sam.

"Sam…"

He pushed by the blankets that had been covering him and rolled off the bed, almost falling but ignoring the medic, who was trying to keep him from getting up.

"Easy, Cadet," he said, his hand taking Ian's arm and trying to hold him in place without hurting him further. Ian brushed him off, and almost fell as his legs tried to decide whether or not they were going to support him.

"Ian…"

Sam stood up, obviously worried by his actions, and Ian felt a tiny stabbing in his arm that drew his attention from her concerned face. He looked down, realized he'd been attached to an IV and had just managed to pull the needle out. Ah well. Worse, though, when he looked down, he saw that he hadn't been wearing anything under those blankets, and he reached behind him, pulling one off the bed and wrapping it around himself as he staggered over to Jack's bed, tripping on the blanket and knocking a machine over that had been monitoring his vital signs. Another thing he'd been hooked up to without realizing it.

"Hey!"

The medic grabbed him from behind, but he was hampered by the knowledge that if he was rough with Ian he could hurt him. This made him use enough care that Ian was able to shake him off once more, and he leaned heavily against Jack's bed, looking down at the pale Colonel. Jaffer whined, softly.

"Ian, what-"

"It's okay, Sam…" Ian murmured, reaching out and resting his hand lightly on Jack's heavily bandaged chest.

"What are you…?"

Sam was interrupted by another voice, this one a lot sharper.

"_What's_ going on here?"

Janet Fraiser walked into the room, irritated to see that one of her patients was up on his feet when he had no business being that way and just as annoyed to find him bothering her other patient. Ian ignored her, now focused entirely on what he was doing, the room completely vanishing as he sank his awareness into what he needed to take care of. Once more, he found himself in a three-way healing trance instead of the one on one that he was more familiar with, but he'd almost expected it this time. His other hand slid along Jaffer's silky fur, but his attention was only for Jack.

Janet scowled, thoroughly annoyed at being ignored, and she walked across the room, intending to pull Ian bodily back to bed. Sam and the medic were both staring at the boy, obviously wondering what in the world he was doing, and Ian's eyes had closed. Before Janet could reach him, she heard a distinctive change in the machinery that was monitoring Jack O'Neill's vitals, and incredulous, she looked over at it.

The heartbeat that had been so slow was steadying into a faster rhythm. The blood pressure that had been dangerously low was also changing, rising into more normal areas, and the labored breathing was starting to ease considerably.

"What the hell…?"

No one answered her. The room was completely silent except for the sounds of the machinery. Unsure what was going on, Janet stopped at the side of the bed, standing beside Sam, who had unconsciously rested her hand on Jack's, her eyes on Ian as she tried to understand what was happening. He didn't pay any attention to her, though. No more than he was anyone else.

For a full minute, and then another, they all stood like that. Then Ian opened his eyes slowly, and took a deep breath. And winced as the pain returned full force. Right after the stabbing pain came the exhaustion, and when he stepped back from the side of the bed he stumbled and almost fell. The medic caught him as he stumbled against him, and the action shook Janet out of her stunned paralysis.

"Get him back in bed," she snapped. "_Now_."

Ian didn't even hear the command. He'd already passed out.

Sam looked over at him, and then down at Jack, who was suddenly moving under her hand. His brown eyes opened, looking around in tired confusion – and then meeting her own.

"Sam…"


	7. 07

She couldn't help the sob that escaped her as she bent over him, pressing her cheek hard against his. Jack heard it, of course, and even though he was confused and out of sorts – and feeling a little pain, although not all that much – he reacted instantly by bringing his hand up and caressing her other cheek as she held him.

"What's wrong…?" he murmured to her, trying to look around her to see where he was and what was going on.

She sniffed, trying to pull herself together, but simply shook her head. Still in shock over what could only be described as a miraculous recovery, Janet stepped forward, knowing that someone needed to. She also wanted a chance to examine O'Neill, since machines were all well and good, but there was every chance that it was malfunctioning or something – although she was pretty sure it wasn't.

"You had us worried, Colonel," she said, reaching down and sliding her hand along his arm, then taking hold of his wrist to check his pulse. Instead of looking at her watch, she simply watched the monitor. Sure enough, the beats matched perfectly. The machine wasn't malfunctioning. "How do you feel?"

Teary-eyed, Sam pulled away from him, although her hand never left his. Jack squeezed her hand lightly, and then looked up at Fraiser, and over at the monitor.

"I'm in the infirmary?"

Janet nodded.

"How bad am I hurt?"

He didn't _feel_ hurt. Not much anyways.

"You tell me," Fraiser said, giving him a look so cryptic Jack didn't have a clue what she was thinking. "How do you feel?" She repeated.

He shrugged – and winced. And beside him Jaffer gave a soft huffing noise, but simply put his big head down on the bed beside Jack and closed his eyes.

"My chest is sore… and I'm tired…"

"How bad is the pain?" Janet asked, already carefully pulling off the bandages she'd put over the terrible staff wound that had damaged his chest so terribly. "On a scale of one to ten – ten being agony…"

"Two… maybe a two and a half."

He was so bewildered by what was going on that he didn't even try to tell her he was fine. Although this time he actually was. Well, not perfectly fine, but nowhere near as bad as he'd been.

Janet stared at his chest. The wound that she'd so carefully closed only a few hours before was almost gone. Not _completely_ healed, but where there had been blood and stitches and a barely closed gaping injury, now there was only a pink line – and stitches that were still there, but weren't holding anything closed.

Sam looked as well, and although she hadn't seen what he'd looked like before, she knew very well that this wasn't right. She looked at Janet, who turned to the other bed in the room. The medic had returned Ian to his bed and had covered him once more; replacing the IV needle he'd pulled out and had righted the machinery that had been knocked over. While he was looking rather wild-eyed at the young man sleeping in the bed, Janet didn't have time for that. Not just yet, anyways. She snapped her fingers to get the medic's attention.

"I want tests done on Colonel O'Neill," she told him. "X-rays, blood samples, tox screens, the works. Now."

"Wait a minute," Jack protested as the medic nodded and left the room. He was still holding Sam's hand trying to comfort her, and he didn't understand what was going on, but he knew he didn't need all _that_ done to him. "I'm _fine_."

"I know, Colonel."

"Then-"

"Just do what I say."

"We'll explain it later," Sam said, speaking for the first time. She was still looking weepy, but there was a relief in her expression that Jack didn't understand, and some kind of awe as well.

"But-"

"Please?"

Jack couldn't say no to Sam any more than Ian could, of course, and he scowled, but he nodded. She smiled to see that familiar expression on his face, and she leaned over and kissed him softly.

"I love you."

Unsure what was going on but knowing she needed it, he returned the kiss and gave her as much of a smile as he could manage – considering he was about to be poked and prodded and jabbed for no reason that he could tell.

"I love you, too…"

Before they could say anything further the door opened and the medic returned with two others in tow and a gurney. Working around Jaffer, who showed no inclination of moving, they quickly and carefully transferred Jack to the gurney, and wheeled him out of the room, leaving Sam and Janet alone in the room – except for Ian, who was completely unaware of what was going on around him, and Jaffer, who appeared to have fallen asleep as well.

"What happened?" Sam asked her friend, her hand sliding along Jaffer's silky shoulder as she stared at the sleeping form in the bed next to the now empty one. "How did-"

"I don't know," Janet replied, turning and examining Ian's sleeping features. He didn't look any different to her – maybe a little more drawn and haggard – but she was _seeing_ him in a different light, that was certain. "I've never seen anything like it."

But she _had_. She'd seen Dotty Adams work similar miracles – even on Jack. And Sam had, too. Even as she said it, she realized it. And so did Sam.

"How could he heal him just by touching him?" Sam asked, walking around the bed and coming to stand beside Janet, her hand reaching out and caressing Ian's cheek. "_He's_ not Ancient."

"We don't _know_ that…"

"We'd have known, Janet," she protested. "Dotty would have told us – and his parents aren't Ancients – and there's no way he's adopted."

That much was certain. Ian was the image of his mother in looks and his father in temperament. He wasn't adopted.

"Besides," Sam added. "Dotty never passed out after healing someone, and Ian…"

She trailed off, as her agile mind quickly started putting pieces together. Pieces that she probably should have realized sooner – except that it was simply impossible. Then and now. There was-

"What's going on?"

This time the voice that interrupted was Daniel's. Sam looked up from Ian and saw that Daniel and Teal'c had both entered the room – Teal'c carrying Jake, who was asleep – and Daniel looking pale and a little frightened. She could understand that; all he knew was that the doctors were suddenly moving Jack form one room to another, and he had no idea why.

"You're never going to believe it," Janet said, shaking her head. _She_ didn't, after all…


	8. 08

_Author's note: Sorry this one is taking longer than usual, guys. I'm deciding as I go just how people would be reacting and how much I want told when… but we're getting there!_

OOOOOOOO

"He _what_?"

Sam was now sitting on Jack's bed, with Jacob in her arms, and Jaffer sprawled next to her snoring lightly. Daniel and Teal'c had listened to what Janet had told them with growing disbelief and while Sam understood that completely, it also annoyed her for some reason.

"He healed him, Daniel," Sam said. "Pulled himself out of bed, came over, touched Jack's chest and after a couple of minutes, the wound was gone…"

"Not completely gone," Janet corrected. "But almost."

"How can that be?" Teal'c asked. "The Tau'ri are not capable of healing with a simple touch."

"The _Ancient_ are," Daniel said. "Is he Ancient and we just didn't know it?"

"He's _not_ Ancient, Daniel," Sam said, still irritated. "He's human. If he were Ancient, we'd have known. Dotty would have told us, or something."

"Then how do you explain what he did, Sam?"

"There has to be an explanation," she said. "We'll just have to ask him."

They all turned to the sleeping Cadet as if hoping that he'd wake up, but Ian didn't move, the steady beeping of the machine monitoring his vitals the only indication he was even alive.

"He's not-"

"What's going on?"

They turned and saw Hammond had joined them in the room. The General was never out of the loop as far as what was going on on his base, and he'd been informed by Janet that O'Neill had woken up and was being given more tests and had come down to find out how he was doing.

Fraiser quickly explained what little they knew, and Hammond stared at the boy sleeping on the bed.

"Are you _certain_ it was Ian, doctor?"

She shrugged.

"It had to be, sir. Colonel O'Neill wasn't responding to anything I was doing – and I tried everything." She shot Sam an apologetic look, but continued. "We were just waiting to see if he was going to pull through… and then Ian touched him and he healed him. At least it _appears_ that he did. I'll know more when they finish the tests they're running."

"Wake Cadet Brooks up," Hammond ordered. "I want to talk to him."

Janet hesitated, and then shook her head.

"I can't, sir."

"I need to talk to him, Doctor."

"The last time he was out like this was the day that the Trust tried to kidnap River Hayden. At the hospital I tried to force Ian awake with an injection of synthetic adrenalin. And it almost killed him. I won't make that mistake again. He'll have to be allowed to wake up naturally."

"But-"

Janet had been doing some speculating on her own – much as Sam had been – and she interrupted Hammond before she could lose her train of thought.

"As near as I can tell – and of course this is pure conjecture – he's exhausted. Probably because of what he did for Colonel O'Neill. Whatever caused it, it's serious, and when I tried to wake him up last time, the added flow of adrenalin in his already over-taxed system put him in duress. I managed to neutralize it in time, but I won't risk it again. We'll have to wait to talk to him."

Hammond scowled, but he didn't argue. Now that he understood why Fraiser refused to wake Ian up, he couldn't agree more. He wanted answers, but he wasn't going to kill Ian to try and get them.

"He hasn't taken any damage?"

"I'm going to run the next battery of tests on him, sir," Janet said. "He doesn't _seem_ to be any worse off than he was before, but it won't hurt to make sure."

"You do that, doctor. And then report to me as soon as you have answers."

Of course, he wanted more than just medical answers, but he knew that Janet Fraiser wasn't going to be able to give him all the answers to the questions he had. He'd have to wait.

"Yes, sir."

"Major?" He turned to Sam, who had been watching Ian from where she sat on Jack's bed. Sam looked up.

"Yes, sir?"

"Let me know if you need anything."

Sam smiled, not at all surprised by the offer, and nodded.

"Thank you, sir."

Hammond gave Ian another look, and then left the room. There wasn't anything he could do to help, and he had no reason to stay. Besides, he was just as relieved as anyone that Jack O'Neill was going to survive what he'd been told was a grievous and possibly mortal injury, and he needed a chance to sit down. He also needed a chance to consider what he'd heard – without having anyone with him – and he did his best thinking in his office.

"So you think he's done this before…?" Daniel asked Janet once Hammond had left. "This healing thing?"

Janet shrugged and then nodded.

"It would explain a lot," she replied. "He's certainly exhibiting the same symptoms that he had the day that River was abducted by the Trust…" she trailed off, frowning as she looked over at Ian. "Not to mention, it explains why Shawn's arm wasn't broken when I was certain it should have been – and how River managed to avoid serious injury. Shawn told me that Ian went over to check on River before he came over to check on the men in the crashed suburban."

Daniel frowned, as well, but it was Teal'c who spoke up.

"Ian Brooks was checking on O'Neill when he was shot. We did not see the Jaffa in time, but had he been paying attention _he_ should have seen him."

Janet looked at Daniel, who nodded his agreement.

"Then maybe Colonel O'Neill was luckier than I thought," she said. She'd assumed he'd lucked out when the bone fragments from his shattered sternum had missed the aorta, but now in light of what she'd seen and heard, she decided it was possible that Ian had tried to start healing Jack when he'd been injured. "We'll learn more once the test results are in…"

Daniel and Teal'c nodded, taking that as a dismissal – which it was. They both headed for the door. Sam however was looking down at Jacob, who had fallen asleep in her arms.


	9. 09

Janet followed Sam's gaze down to the infant in her arms.

"What are you thinking Sam?" She asked, although she was pretty sure she already knew.

"Ian was passed out pretty hard when we returned with Jake…"

Janet nodded, but she wasn't quite ready to agree completely. It was just too far-fetched.

"He was also injured."

"But you said yourself that he shouldn't have been out so long – he didn't even have broken ribs, just some bruising. And you _did_ say that Jacob was in better shape than any preemie you'd ever seen."

There was definitely an argument to be made, Janet knew. She was going to wait, though, and talk to Ian before actually agreeing. It was one thing to see something done in front of your eyes and believe it; it was another matter completely to start crediting Ian with everything that had happened around them.

"He is…" she agreed. "But let's wait and see, okay?"

Sam started to say something, but the door opened and the medics returned with Jack just then. He was asleep when they rolled him in on the gurney, but he roused briefly when they transferred him over to the bed once more.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked. She'd moved off the bed when they'd entered to give the medics room to work, although Jaffer hadn't even budged and they'd ended up settling the Colonel around the lab's hulking form. As soon as they had Jack covered up and reattached to his monitors, Janet gave him a quick check, while Sam hovered nervously.

"He's fine, Sam," Janet told her. "A couple of the tests required him to be slightly sedated, that's all." She'd checked the wound on his chest – which was still just a faint pink line – and had checked his reflexes. Everything was okay. "Why don't I leave you alone with him for a while?"

Sam nodded, and resumed the spot beside him on the bed, still holding Jacob, although her attention was completely on Jack just then. She didn't even notice when Janet left.

Looking just a little glassy-eyed, Jack looked up at her, his hand reaching out and resting on her thigh since he couldn't hold her hand.

"Don't look so worried," he murmured, sleepily. "I'm fine."

"Did they tell you what happened?" She asked.

He shook his head.

"What happened?"

Sam looked over at Ian's bed for just a moment, and then back to her husband. She couldn't explain it to him, so what was the point of even trying to tell him?

"I'll tell you later," she promised. "Right now it looks like you can use some rest."

"I'm not sleepy," he said, almost automatically.

Sam smiled, and rested Jacob in the small space between Jack's body and Jaffer's, and leaned over and kissed Jack's forehead. Jaffer opened one eye when he felt the baby beside him, scooted just enough to make a little more space and went back to sleep, while Sam cuddled up against Jack on the other side.

"You _look_ sleepy."

"I'm not."

He closed his eyes, though, and she caressed his cheek softly, watching as he fell asleep beside her.

She could have left then. He didn't _need_ her company while he slept, and she knew it. But _she_ needed his. In the space of only a few hours she'd gone from almost losing him to getting him right back, and she hadn't had a chance to get over that shock just yet. Some time spent with him – quiet time – would work wonders to restore her equilibrium, and she recognized that. Besides, she _wanted_ to be with him.

She'd ask Janet later how long she intended to keep him.

OOOOOOOOOO

"How's he doing?"

Daniel and Teal'c had neither one left the infirmary – although they were expected in debriefing soon. They'd seen Jack being transported back into his room and had hovered, waiting for Janet to make an appearance. When she left the ICU room, she'd been handed a clipboard that held the few test results already back, and had also been given a large envelope that held O'Neill's newest set of x-rays.

Fraiser looked up from the notes written on the chart, and shrugged.

"As far as I can tell so far, he's fine."

"Really?"

She nodded, and walked over to one of the walls that held the lighted panels, pulling the x-rays out of the envelope as she did so. The first one she put up was of Jack's chest, and while she examined it, Daniel and Teal'c both came over as well and looked over her shoulder.

"Looks okay to me…" Daniel hazarded. He, of course, wasn't a doctor, so what did he know? Not that kind of doctor, anyways.

Janet nodded again. And pointed to the center of the x-ray.

"When he came in, that bone was so badly broken up that you couldn't make it out…"

"Really?"

"Yes."

Of course there were other differences, but she didn't bother to point them out. It was one thing to point to a bone and expect someone unaccustomed to examining x-rays to understand what they were seeing, but it was quite another to point to places that had once held badly injured organs. These would simply show up as dark spots to the initiated, and Janet didn't feel like going into lengthy explanations of things she didn't understand anyways.

"How's Ian?"

"Sleeping." She said, simply. "I'm going to run tests on him, now, and see if there's anything that could possibly explain all this."

"We don't need to call his parents or anything?"

She shook her head.

"He's not badly injured, and the last thing I need is General Brooks underfoot just now."

Maggie was great – and really, _Nathan_ wasn't all that bad – but he was a General, and used to getting things his way. Especially when it came to Ian. Janet wasn't ready to deal with that.

"Anything we can do?"

"You might see if Sam wants you to stop at the house and bring her some things. She'll probably want to stay with Colonel O'Neill, and I'm not going to release him today."

Or the next day – or maybe not even the day after that. It would depend on what she found out.

"We have debriefing," Daniel said. "But we'll check in with Sam right after that."

That was soon enough, and would give Sam time alone with Jack.


	10. 10

Saturday morning wasn't a typical weekend morning for Janet Fraiser. Not that it would have been anyways. There were two other SG teams offworld, so she would have gone into the SGC anyways – on the off chance that something happened and she was needed. She was a good doctor, and knew where she was supposed to be – even when she should have been off that day. But with O'Neill and Brooks both in her infirmary – and so many questions raised about Ian – there was no chance she was going to stay away.

Her first challenge, however, came log before she went into work.

"But I want to go see how he's doing."

Janet shook her head, looking over her morning coffee at her daughter. Cassie hadn't been happy when Janet had told her she couldn't go in to work with her that morning, but she'd figured that would be the reaction, and she was ready for it.

"He's sleeping, Cass, and that's all he's probably going to do all day. If you come into the base today, you're just going to end up sitting in my office – and I know you had other things planned."

"But mom…"

"Cass, I'm not even sure General Hammond would let you in to visit him."

"Why not?"

"Because."

She hadn't told Cassie what had happened – which had just added to the problem. But there was no way she was going to tell Cassie anything until she knew herself – if even then. For one thing, it was classified – and even though Cassie's very existence was a huge military secret, that didn't mean the girl had a right to be in on every secret that was going on in the SGC. Even when it had to do with her boyfriend.

"You're just going to have to wait."

Knowing from the tone of voice and the set in Janet's shoulders that she wasn't going to win this one, Cassie had reverted to the only thing she could do. She stomped off to her room, and slammed the door behind her.

Janet had sighed, and finished her coffee with a scant hope that Cassie would rejoin her – which didn't happen – and then she'd headed for the door. The tests she'd ordered on Ian Brooks should be completed by then, and she was anxious to see if there was anything to be found.

"I'll call you if I'm going to be late!" She'd yelled so that Cassie would hear her – even though she didn't expect an answer. She didn't get one, either. Ah well.

OOOOOOOO

Janet was in early, but she was hardly the first one in. Even though above them at NORAD they were on a skeleton crew for the weekend, she had a full compliment of doctors and nurses handy – along with plenty of support staff. As she walked through the main door of the infirmary, she was handed reports and test results by one of the doctors, who anticipated what she was going to ask for before she could even ask. Smiling, she thanked her and then headed into the ICU unit to check on her patients.

The bed Colonel O'Neill was in was crowded. Sam was stretched out on one side of him; sound asleep with her head nestled against his shoulder and his arm around her. Jaffer was on the other side, his head resting on Jack's thigh and his eyes open, watching Jacob, who was also awake and propped between his mother and father.

The black lab turned his attention to Janet when she walked through the door, his tail thumping a greeting although he didn't move, and Fraiser smiled at the sight of all of them sharing the same bed like that. Hospital beds weren't all that big, but it didn't matter to the O'Neill's. She moved over to Ian's bed, and saw that he was in the exact same position he'd been in when she'd seen him last. And still sound asleep. He wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

Satisfied that everyone was comfortable, Janet took her reports and left, heading for her office, where she could study them in relative quiet. From the size of the folders, there was a lot of information to be looked at and she was anxious to get to it. Besides, she knew that everyone else was going to be in soon, and they'd want answers. Answers she hoped to be able to give.

OOOOOOOOO

By the time Hammond arrived at the SGC, had a chance to go over the reports fro the day before and have a cup of coffee or two, Janet had had plenty of time to go through the test results. By the time Sam and Jack had both woken up and eaten breakfast and had a chance to visit with Teal'c – who came by to take Jaffer out when he took Jack out for his morning run – Fraiser was ready to face the rest of them, although she still didn't have answers.

There were things she could rule out, however, and questions that had been raised that she could discuss with the others. When Daniel arrived on base a little after ten, Hammond finally called all of them into the briefing room – including Jack, who now knew what had happened and was just as perplexed as everyone else. Moreso since he knew Nathan better than any of the others did – and knew the man wasn't an alien. Therefore his son couldn't be, either.

"What have you found out, doctor?" Hammond asked as they settled in around the table. "Anything?"

Janet shrugged.

"He's human, sir."

"You're certain?"

"There's nothing abnormal in the DNA tests," she replied. "He's no more Ancient than I am."

"Then what is it…?" Sam asked from her position beside Jack.

Janet shrugged.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "However, his CAT scan did bring up something interesting." She pressed a button and a slide came up on the wall. It was a picture of a human head – with a lot of colors on the inside where the brain was.

"When Colonel O'Neill got his head stuck in that Ancient device – the repository of knowledge thing – his brain went hyperactive on him, and he started exhibiting abnormal activity."

"Yeah…" Jack said, wondering where she was going with that.

"Ian's brain is exhibiting the same symptoms," Janet told them. "It wasn't really noticeable, because his brain has a lot more activity anyways – I think due to the fact that he remembers everything around him and he's constantly categorizing all that – but it's remarkably similar to the activity that Colonel O'Neill was exhibiting at the time."

"The only problem with that, is that I was going nuts," Jack said.

"Not to mention, Ian hasn't stuck his head into any Ancient devices lately…" Daniel added.

Hammond looked at Janet, who shrugged helplessly.

"I realize that, guys. But that's what I'm seeing. Ian's brain activity is comparable to what Colonel O'Neill's was. I checked back to the last few scans we've done on him, and there has definitely been an increase over the past months. We didn't notice it, because it's been gradual."

"What does it mean?" Sam asked.

Janet shrugged again.

"I don't know. I'm hoping Ian will be able to tell us when he wakes up."

"And if he can't?" Daniel asked.

Hammond scowled.

"He'd better."


	11. 11

_Author's Note: Again, I'm sorry some of you think I'm posting too slowly on this. It's not an easy story to write, and I want to do it properly without missing something important. Once a day is better than a lot of authors post, so I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to do much better than that right now. Real life also dictates just how much I post, and I do have a life._

OOOOOOO

Jack caught the irritation in Hammond's voice easily – as did the others – and he frowned. While he wasn't sure exactly what was going on – no more than anyone else did, anyways – he wasn't as ready to explode about it as Hammond seemed to be. Of course, he was also on medication, which might have had something to do with his lassitude.

"General…" he said, drawing Hammond's attention. "You might not want to be too direct with Ian when he wakes up. If you start interrogating him, he's going to clam up and get defensive…"

Hammond scowled, transferring his irritation quite easily over to Jack.

"What would you _suggest_ I do, Colonel? The boy's hiding some secret of some kind for who knows how long! You want me to just let it slide?"

"I didn't say that, sir," Jack said, scowling as well. He wasn't the one Hammond was mad at, so he didn't feel it was all that fair that the general get snippy with him. After all, he was _hurt_, right? "I just said you might want to rethink whatever strategy you're planning on using with Ian. Unless you _like_ having someone tell you to go fuck yourself?"

Of course, that was the first phrase that would come to mind for Ian if he was angered – it always was. Jack knew that Ian didn't have the awe for Hammond's rank that other young recruits did, and he knew that Ian wouldn't hesitate to lash out if he felt Hammond was trying to pull rank on him or bully him.

Hammond's face turned red, and Jack was pretty sure he was going to get reamed for that last bit – and he probably would have deserved it – but Daniel spoke up.

"He's right, general. Ian's not going to tell us anything if someone's bullying him."

And Daniel definitely wanted to know what was going on with Ian.

Hammond turned his attention to Daniel – well aware that Jack was right. Of course, Jack knew Ian as well as anyone did – with the exception of Cassie Fraiser, most likely. And there was no _way_ Hammond was going to let that little girl in on the secret until he knew more about it. Okay, she wasn't a _little_ girl anymore, but she still wasn't going to know anything until he did.

"What do you have in mind, then, Doctor Jackson?" He asked, sarcastically.

Daniel hesitated, thinking. He actually hadn't had anything in mind. He'd just sided with Jack because he knew Jack was right.

"I don't know…" he replied, casting for any idea and grabbing the first – which he knew was a very bad one, even as he suggested it. "Maybe Janet could _accidentally_ give him an extra dose of painkillers… he'd tell-"

"If we drug him, we've lost him," Jack said, throwing a look of disbelief and disgust at Daniel. "He'd never forget it – or forgive it – and neither would I."

You didn't do that kind of thing to your teammates – and certainly not to someone who'd just saved your life.

Daniel flushed; he'd known it was wrong the minute he'd said it.

"I know… I just-"

"Have Sam talk to him," Janet said. "The minute he wakes up, and while he's still sleepy."

They all looked at her, and Janet shrugged.

"He'd tell her anything, anyways, I bet. And she's going to be here with Colonel O'Neill, so she'll be here when Ian wakes up."

Which made Jack scowl, because he'd been hoping he was going to have a chance to get out of the infirmary that day. He was well aware that Mother's Day was the next day, and he needed to do some shopping.

Daniel nodded, though.

"She's right. Sam could get him to talk…"

Sam didn't like the idea of using her relationship with Ian like that, and it plainly showed on her face. Hammond noticed, of course, since he'd been looking directly at her. He'd already considered asking Sam to at least have a word with Ian when he woke up, because he knew Jack had been right. Ian would have jumped immediately on the defensive, and a defensive Ian was just not someone you could talk to about anything.

"If you'd just have a word with him, major…" Hammond requested. "It'd really be a help."

She sighed, but nodded. It would be better than other options, she supposed.

"If I have a chance to talk to him I will, sir."

Hammond nodded, also. He'd make sure she had a chance to talk to Ian while he was waking up.

"Thank you, major."

She nodded, and felt Jack's hand come to rest lightly on her thigh under the table where no one could see it. He understood she didn't like what she'd been asked to do, but when she looked over at him, she could see in his expression that he had all the confidence in the world that she'd be able to do what was being asked of her.

Of course, Jack believed Sam could move mountains of she put her mind to it, and she knew it.

"We'll meet back here on Monday morning," Hammond said, standing up. "Unless something happens between then and now."

Everyone else stood up as well, and Jack turned to Fraiser, his hand reaching for Sam's. It wasn't like this was an official work day, after all, and he didn't have to pretend he was just her CO just then.

"You're not _really_ going to keep me here tonight, are you?"

Janet nodded.

"Another day, Colonel."

"I have _things_ to do, doc…"

Meaning he needed to do some shopping.

"I'm sorry, colonel, but I'm not positive you're at a hundred percent, yet, and I'm not ready to release you."

_That_ was an understatement. Janet hadn't _really_ decided that O'Neill was ready to be on his feet – despite the fact that he looked a lot better than the alternative – but he'd insisted on joining the briefing. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all.

"But-"

"I'm sure Daniel would be happy to help you with whatever it is you need to do."

Sam wasn't fooled at all. If Jack had things to do, he'd have asked _her_ to do them. Which meant the things he needed to do had to do with her. And given the fact that the next day was Mother's Day, she was pretty sure what it was.

"There's no hurry, Jack," she said, squeezing his hand lightly.

"Yeah, there is." He tempered that grumpiness with a slight smile for her, but then let her hand go, turning to Daniel before he could escape the room. "_Daniel_!"

Sam smiled at Janet as Jack walked off to talk to the archeologist.

"When do you think Ian might wake up?"

"I don't have a clue, Sam. He hasn't even moved, yet."

She'd put him on an IV to make sure he didn't dehydrate, and a catheter to make it easier on the staff to take care of him while he slept.

"I'll stick around then, I guess…"

Janet smiled.

"I was hoping you would. I have to get to the infirmary. SG-5 and SG-9 will be back in a few hours and I want to get ready for post mission examinations."

Sam looked over at Jack, who was deep in conversation with Daniel.

"I'll walk with you."


	12. 12

Hey, beautiful woman… are you going to sleep all day?"

Sam opened her eyes at the sound of Jack's soft whisper, and found herself looking into three sets of brown eyes. Jack was leaning over her, one hand bracing himself above her on the bed, and the other holding Jacob, who was also watching her, his brown eyes warm and a slight smile on his tiny face. Of course, it was probably just gas, but it made Sam smile anyways, because it made the baby look just like his daddy, who was wearing a slight smile, too.

The other set of eyes belonged to Jaffer, who was hovering close as well, his eyes cheerful and just as warm. As soon as Jaffer saw her open her eyes – a sure sign that she was awake – the black lab whuffled her cheek and neck for just a moment, a greeting in itself, and then backed away, making room for Jack.

Sam sat up a little, sleepily. She'd had a long night the night before. Jacob had been incredibly fussy and because he was crying she'd taken him into the main room of the infirmary to avoid disturbing Ian – who still hadn't made any indication that he was ready to wake up, yet. Jack had offered to handle Grumpy Baby – as Jake was called when he was peevish – but since the infant calmed a lot quicker if Sam nursed him than he would if he was only offered a bottle, she'd told Jack to get some sleep and they'd join him when they were done.

By the time Jake was asleep and Sam was certain he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, it'd been late, and Jack had been asleep. She'd put Jake in his basinet and had slid into bed next to Jack, who had woken just enough to wrap his arms around her and cuddle her close before closing his eyes once more and drifting off.

"Good morning," Sam told him – them. "You're up early."

"Of course we are," he said, handing Jacob to her so he could have both hands free. She took the baby, and smiled once more. Jacob was dressed in a new outfit. A sharp looking little suit-type jumper complete with a clip on tie and suspenders that didn't hold anything up. Sam had never seen the outfit before, so she decided that Jack must have bought it himself without telling her – as a surprise for this very day. "You hold him for a minute, and I'll be right back."

He didn't give her a chance to answer. Instead, he left the room and returned with a tray, laden with a huge breakfast, a vase with a single red rose in it, and two packages – one a beautifully wrapped box, and the other more of an envelope.

"Breakfast in bed?" Sam asked, smiling as he put the tray on her lap and adjusted the legs so it wasn't resting on her. "I'm impressed."

Jack's smile was warm as he took Jacob back and sat down next to her.

"It was _supposed_ to be breakfast in bed – in _our_ bed," he said. "Made by yours truly. Since the situation has made that impossible – this year – it's breakfast in _this_ bed, made by a restaurant downtown that just happens to deliver. As far as the main gate, anyways."

"I don't care where it is, Jack," Sam told him, her eyes suddenly misting over when she realized that this day could have been so much worse if he-

"Hey…" he pulled her attention from those thoughts, knowing exactly what she'd been thinking about from the instant change of expression and the loss that had crept into her eyes. His hand was gentle as he cupped her cheek and leaned forward to kiss her lightly. "Rule number one of Mother's day: no thinking about what could have been. Understand?"

She sniffed, and nodded, wiping her eyes. And looked down just in time to see Jaffer sneak a slice of bacon off the tray while she and Jack were distracted. She smiled, and sniffed again.

"Okay."

"Good." He leaned back to give her a little room. "The flower is from Jaffer."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Because _he_ loves you, too, you know?"

Her smile grew, but she nodded. Yeah, she did know. As if to make sure she didn't have any doubt, though, Jaffer whuffled her face, his bacon breath warm and his tongue quite wet. She giggled, despite herself, and finally had to push him away before she drowned.

"This…" Jack said, reaching over and handing her the little box that had been on the tray. "Is from Jacob."

Sam unwrapped the box and found a ring box – similar to the one that had held her engagement ring. She looked up at Jack, who was smiling, and his brown eyes were only on her.

"Open it."

She did, and found a delicate ring made of gold. Set in the ring were two stones – in a lopsided fashion, or so she thought until Jack spoke up.

"It's a Mother's ring. The first stone is _your_ birthstone," he explained, pointing at it. "It goes in the very center. The other stone is Jake's birthstone. It'll go on that side, and when – and _if_ – you decide we're going to have another baby, her stone will go on the other side of yours – so yours will be in the middle. That's why it looks crooked right now. It won't be even until you give me a daughter."

"And if I give you another son…?"

"Well… it'll still be even, but it won't be _fair_."

Sam smiled and slid the ring on her finger.

"It's beautiful, Jack."

He smiled, pleased that she liked it.

"So are you."

Sam felt her cheeks redden. He could always make her blush with one well-aimed compliment, no matter how many times he said it. It was probably the intense look of love in his eyes when he said it, one that made her shiver no matter how warm the room was.

To hide that, she reached over and took Jacob from him, hugging their son close and kissing him, making him gurgle in happiness.

"So… a present from Jaffer, and a present from Jacob… and breakfast in bed from you. What a wonderful-"

"Oh, no… breakfast in bed is just _because_. It's not a present."

"It isn't?"

He smiled, and shook his head, this time catching Jaffer as the black lab tried to slip another slice of bacon off the tray.

"Hey, little man… you already _had_ breakfast. Don't be greedy."

Jaffer gave him an innocent look that none of them bought, and made a whuffing noise – kind of a cross between a grumble and a sigh – and hopped down off the bed, sauntering over to Ian's and hopping up on his. The lab flopped down beside the sleeping cadet with a deep sigh of contentment – he _had_ managed to steal several slices of bacon before he'd been caught, after all – and closed his eyes. There was more room on Ian's bed, anyways.

Jack grinned, and handed the envelope on the tray to Sam.

"This is from me."

She opened it and found a brochure inside. Pulling it out, she saw that it was for a high-class bed and breakfast in Denver. Inside the brochure was information on a reservation – for two – the next weekend. She looked up at Jack, who shrugged.

"It _was_ going to be for _this_ weekend," he explained. "It's just an overnight deal – since I didn't think you'd want to leave Jake any longer than that… Janet said she'd babysit."

"A whole day and night alone?" Sam said, smiling. She wasn't positive she'd really feel comfortable leaving Jacob for even that long, but it sure sounded tempting. They hadn't had any time to themselves since he'd been born, and while they both loved him to distraction, a night alone wasn't such a terrible sounding thing. "What about Jaffer?"

"We could have Teal'c or Ian watch him."

"Just the two of us…?" Sam smiled. "Whatever would we do…?"

He smiled, and leaned forward, his lips brushing against hers, delicately.

"I have a few ideas…"

"Yeah…? Like what?"

He kissed her, then, and ran his hand lightly along her side, careful not to press too close and squish Jake between them. Sam shivered at the touch, and leaned closer, closing her eyes.

"You guys want to be left alone…?"

The voice was tired, but there was definitely a note of humor in it, and Sam and Jack both jumped, looking over at Ian's bed, guiltily. The cadet was still sprawled flat, but now his head was resting on Jaffer's shoulder, and his free arm was around the lab, his eyes open and watching them with undisguised amusement.


	13. 13

Ian had been sleeping fairly soundly. The thing his body needed most was rest; after all, to replenish what he'd given over to healing Jack. His sleep had been deep and dreamless and even though he'd slept continuously for well overthirty-six hours, there was every chance he would have continued sleeping just as soundly for even longer if not for Jaffer. When the black lab had jumped up on his bed, he'd uncharacteristically landed among the wires and tubes that led from Ian to the various machines that were monitoring his vitals and taking care of needs he wasn't able to take care of himself just then. And Jaffer had nudged the catheter.

The sudden sharp pain to the most tender of parts of his anatomy should have jolted him awake, but Ian was far too exhausted for even that to wake him completely. He did get closer to waking, though, and when Jaffer flopped down beside him and nuzzled his face in greeting, it did finally wake him. At least for the moment.

Ignoring the aches and pains, he put his arm around the lab and managed to lift his head from the pillow just enough to move it to Jaffer's shoulder. Ian wasn't above a little cuddling, after all – especially when he felt like shit, which he did just then. The sound of a quiet conversation drew his attention over to the bed beside his own, and he couldn't help but smile at the intimate position Jack and Sam were in.

Had it been his parents, he wouldn't have been amused, of course. He'd have been grossed out just like every other offspring would have been. However, Jack and Sam weren't his folks, and he frequently thought of them more as mentors – Jack in all ways military, and Sam in the sciences – although they both were also teaching him about relationships without any of them realizing it. He watched them, sleepily, listening more to Jaffer's heart beating than to what they were saying to each other, and would have let their murmuring voices put him back to sleep, if not for the fact that it appeared things were getting just a little too physical for his tastes.

That was when he spoke up, and even had he been half-dead, he would have snickered at the way they jumped at the sound of his voice. _That_ had been classic.

"I had something in my… eye…" Sam said, blushing a brilliant shade of red. "He was helping me get it out."

"Uh huh…"

Ian didn't lift his head from Jaffer's shoulder, but he definitely knew there wasn't anything in her eye.

Even Jack was blushing, and that took a bit of doing.

After a moment of shifting and rearranging, Sam got off the bed – dressed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt – and left Jack and Jacob to come over and join Ian. She sat down on the edge of his bed with Jaffer between them, and reached out to put her hand on Ian's cheek. He looked so tired that it actually made her feel tired, too – even though she'd only just woken up.

"How are you?" she asked him, gently.

"Okay…"

He didn't even lift his head from Jaffer's shoulder, but the big lab obviously didn't mind. Jaffer was used to being a pillow for those around him, and he loved the attention.

"You look tired."

Ian nodded, and closed his eyes.

"What day is it?"

His voice was even softer than Sam's had been.

"Sunday."

"Happy Mother's Day."

Sam smiled, and ran her hand lightly along his cheek, feeling a trace of stubble there. He didn't grow facial hair all that quickly, and was immaculate when it came to shaving, so it seemed out of place on him – especially since he looked like nothing more than a sleepy child just then.

"Thank you."

"Jack get you a present…?"

His words were slurring, and she had a feeling he was falling asleep in the middle of their conversation.

"Yes."

"A real present?"

She smiled.

"Yes."

"Good…"

She looked over at Jack, who was watching, but even from the other bed Jack could see she was losing Ian fast. He wasn't ready to wake up, yet, it was obvious.

"Are you hurt, Ian?" Sam asked him.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Just tired…"

"You healed Jack, didn't you?"

Ian opened his eyes, his expression wary even through his exhaustion. And he nodded, again. But he didn't say anything.

"And Shawn?"

Another nod.

"And River?"

He nodded, but wouldn't look at her. In fact, he closed his eyes again. Sam was pretty sure he was certain he was in trouble, and she wanted to hug him tight and tell him that it was okay. She didn't, though. He was hurting for one thing – the bandages wrapped tightly around his broken ribs were a constant reminder that he wasn't at a hundred percent – and really, she wasn't all that _sure_ that everything _would_ be okay. Hammond wanted answers – and wasn't happy with Ian, and there would be questions to answer once he was awake enough to be interrogated. But there were questions that Sam wanted to ask, first.

"You healed me and Jacob, too, didn't you? When he was born, I mean…"

There was a hesitation, and she had almost decided he wasn't going to answer, or that he'd fallen asleep once more, when he spoke.

"Healed you…" he mumbled. "_Fixed_ Jacob…"

Which was all she needed to hear. With tears already brimming in her eyes, she simply leaned over and pressed a tender kiss against his temple.

"Go back to sleep, Ian," she whispered. "We'll talk about it when you're feeling better."

And when she'd had a chance to figure out how to make everything better – because there was no way she was going to let him suffer for what he'd done – even if he _had_ kept the ability a secret from them. No way in hell.

He nodded, and she felt him relax under her touch. It was only a moment later that he was asleep once more. Sam stroked Jaffer's silky side, and then got up, returning to Jack's bed. It was Mother's Day, after all, and she wanted to celebrate. Ian would undoubtedly sleep the rest of the day from the looks of things.

"Well?" Jack asked when she'd slid back into the bed, and he'd put her tray back over her lap. "What did you find out?"

"What we already knew," Sam said, wiping her eyes. "We owe him everything."


	14. 14

_Awake once, Ian's sleep wasn't as deep and desperate as it had been, and as if that was what he'd been waiting for, the very solid presence that was Alexander was suddenly with Ian as he slept, filling him with the same warm friendship and love that Ian felt every time he was visited by the Ancient. This time, however, Ian didn't feel overwhelmed by the sensation like he normally was – probably because he was so tired, although Alexander knew immediately that there was more to it than just that._

_"You did good…"_

_Ian nodded, but didn't say anything._

_"You're worried…"_

_He shook his head._

_"I'm_ fucked_, Alexander."_

_"How so?" The Ancient didn't even flinched at Ian's turn of phrase – he was used to it._

_"They know everything – or they will, anyways."_

_"It was going to happen eventually. Don't worry about it."_

_"Easy for you to say…" Ian sighed, and it was a depressing sound. "I suppose it doesn't matter… I'm not really Air Force material anyways."_

_There was a soft snort of disbelief._

_"How can someone as bright as you have such low self esteem?"_

_Ian shrugged; he didn't really want to discuss it._

_"Just lucky, I guess."_

_"Well… stop. You're depressing me. Everything's going to be fine."_

_"You're not listening, Alexander. They_ know_. Your secret is out. Or it will be, anyways."_

_"I know. Just tell them what they want to know…"_

_Ian hesitated._

_"Really?"_

_Alexander nodded._

_"We'll figure it out, Ian. It was more important that Jack survive, and there wasn't any way to do it without giving away your abilities…"_

_Alexander was a lot more confident than Ian was, but the cadet had other things on his mind than his future in the military – or possible lack there of._

_"I have a question…"_

_There was a hesitation and then disquiet, followed by a sigh of acceptance._

_"I figured you would have… ask away."_

_"When I was healing Jack – both here and… before… I felt… Jaffer."_

_"Yes."_

_"He's_ you_, isn't he?"_

_"No."_

_Ian frowned. He'd been pretty certain of himself – or he never would have asked. The presence that had been Jaffer in the three-way healing link had been liberally laced with the same presence that was with him right now. Alexander. He knew, though that the Ancient couldn't lie to him – not with the two of them so closely linked just then._

_"He isn't?"_

_Alexander sighed again, and obviously made a decision._

_"It's a long story…"_

_"I have time."_

_"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. It's simple, really… There was a time when Jack was drifting, and needed something – someone – to ground him."_

_"Sam?"_

_"No… at the time Sam and Jack were at the beginning of their relationship, and we weren't sure exactly what was going to come of it. You have to understand; in most realities Jack and Sam are_ not _an item like they are here – and we didn't know how far things would go between them. And even if things did happen between them, Jack still needed someone who would love him unconditionally – and without reservation or worry about what others might think."_

_"So you created Jaffer…"_

_"Of course not. No more than we created Jack (the dog). We just saw the perfect opportunity when it presented itself, and took it."_

_"I don't understand…"_

_"I know… and it now it kind of gets complicated, so pay attention, okay?"_

_Ian didn't even think to be offended. He just nodded._

_"Okay."_

_"Jaffer's a dog. He was born the same way every other dog is. The only difference is that from the minute he was born, he was drawn to Jack. I don't know what it was about them that drew them together – none of us do – but there's a special bond between the two of them."_

_"I know."_

_"Well… you know what I am, right?"_

_"An ascended Ancient."_

_"You're partially right. I was ascended. When Jack was given Jaffer, and we saw the bond between the two of them, we decided that it was the best chance we'd ever have to be able to keep an even closer eye on Jack than we already had."_

_"So you possessed Jaffer."_

_"Not exactly. Possession implies that I can control the dog and make him do what I want him to. Which isn't quite accurate. What I did was create a bond. Jaffer's soul and my own are linked. I feel what he feels, and he feels what I do."_

_"Why would you do that?"_

_"Because we figured that Jaffer is closer to Jack than anyone, and if something were to go wrong, Jaffer would be the first to know. By bonding with Jaffer, I know when something goes wrong, too. And I can act on it."_

_"You can heal him?"_

_"No. When I ascended, I gave up the majority of the powers that I had – I gained others, but that's another story. What I_ can _do is sustain him. The idea was that I would keep him alive until Dotty could get to Jack to heal him."_

_"Oh."_

_"We didn't expect to ever need you in that capacity, Ian," Alexander said, softly, and Ian felt the sorrow Alexander was still feeling at the loss of his daughter. "But I have to admit, I'm glad you were there."_

_Ian nodded._

_"Me, too."_

_There was a moment of silence, but Alexander spoke up again, and the sorrow faded._

_"Jaffer kept Jack focused when he didn't have anyone else to care about. He gave Jack a balance that in other realities doesn't exist – and because of that, he's changed your reality drastically from the others. He was – and is – Jack's protector and guardian, and I suppose you could call him a soul mate. Now Jack has Sam, Shawn and Jacob, so it helps balance him as well, but Jaffer is still important, because no matter how much the others love Jack, they all have other concerns that distract them. Jaffer never will. To him, Jack is everything. Not to mention Jaffer has saved the lives of people that have died in other realities. People that have their own places in the scheme of things."_

_"Who?"_

_"I'm not going to tell you."_

_Ian scowled, but he didn't argue. He was feeling just a little overwhelmed by what he was hearing – well aware that he was once more being given a secret to guard. One that he was going to have to keep better than the other one he'd been charged to keep._

_"This one won't be so hard to keep, Ian. No one else has even come close to putting two and two together, and as far as we can tell, it doesn't seem to be changing any time soon."_

_He wasn't so sure, and Alexander obviously felt that. Ian felt a surge of good humor._

_"Don't worry about it, Ian. You have more than enough on your plate already."_

_Which brought him back to the other problem once more._

_"So what do I do to fix things…?"_

_"You leave that to us. We got you into this, and we'll get you out of it."_

_Before Ian could ask what he meant, though, Alexander was gone._

Troubled, but too tired to force himself awake so he could think things through, Ian slept once more, his arm still around the warm body of the black lab that was asleep next to him. The big dog opened his eyes for a moment, but didn't see anything.He rumbled softly in response to something that only he could hear, and then he went back to sleep as well.


	15. 15

It wasn't exactly how he'd planned to spend Mother's day. He'd planned on being home alone with Sam and Jacob and hopefully Shawn if he wanted to come, and spending quiet time with those members of his family. However, since Janet Fraiser had no intention of letting him out of her sight – even for Mother's Day – he wasn't going to have that opportunity. 

When Janet came into the infirmary later that morning – long after Sam and Jack had finished her breakfast in bed and had cuddled Jake and then had had a chance to cuddle with each other – she first checked on Jack, who told her rather grumpily that he was feeling fine and had no business being stuck in her infirmary any longer. She ignored his protests and checked his charts – privately finding that he was right; he was fine, and probably could go home that night. But she didn't tell him that. Instead, she went over to check on Ian, who was still asleep, but had obviously woken at some point, since his arm was wrapped around Jaffer and his head was resting on the lab's shoulder.

"He woke up for a minute," Sam said, confirming that. She'd come over to stand by Ian's bed while Janet checked on him, and couldn't help but reach down and touch his cheek once more. "We didn't get to talk to him much, but he did confirm that he healed Jack – and Shawn, River and me."

"And Jacob?" Janet had asked.

Sam shook her head.

"He said he healed me, but fixed Jake…"

Janet had frowned.

"I wonder what he meant by that?"

"You'll have to ask him when he wakes up again…"

Janet had watched Ian sleep with a speculative look on her face.

"I could probably wake him up, now… he's been asleep quite a while…"

"Let him sleep, doc," Jack had said. "He's tired, and it's not like there's any rush."

Janet had scowled, because there was a rush. For one thing, she wanted to know how he'd healed the people he'd healed. For another, Cassie was driving her crazy with her sulking – although she had broken down enough to make Janet breakfast and give her a lovely mother's day present – a pantsuit that Janet had been admiring the last time the two of them had gone shopping together. However, there wasn't much she could do. She really wasn't going to wake Ian up unnaturally – she had no intention of risking a repeat of the last time she'd attempted it.

"I suppose it won't kill us to wait," she'd said, running her own hand along his cheek, and sort of hoping that the touch would wake him up. When it didn't, she'd sighed, and had gone over to Jack's bed once more. "You have a choice, Colonel…"

"Yeah?" Jack had asked. "What's that?"

"You can stay in the infirmary today where my staff can keep an eye on you – just in case you have any medical emergency…"

"_Or_…?"

"You, Sam and Jacob can come over to my house and have a barbeque with Emmett, Cassie and myself."

"And Shawn?"

"If he wants to come, he's more than welcomed." The way she'd said it reminded him that Shawn was always more than welcome. "River could come, too, if he wanted."

Before Jack could say anything – although Sam already knew what his answer would be – Sam spoke up.

"We'd love to come."

Janet smile, and had looked at Jack, who had nodded, too.

"Yeah, we'd love to come."

He'd do anything to get out of bed, and it wasn't like he didn't like Janet, Emmett and Cassie.

"Great. I'll give Ian a quick check, and leave some instructions in case he wakes up, and you guys can call Shawn to see if he wants to come."

So that's how Jack and Sam ended up spending her first Mother's Day over at Janet's instead of at home. The company was good, though, and since it was the first official barbeque of the season it was that much better. Emmett volunteered to pick up Shawn and River from the academy, and they even came bearing gifts for Janet and Sam – although they'd had to do some quick last minute shopping to find a gift for Janet. Both young men had decided though that since she'd opened her house to them it was the least they could do.

When the subject of Ian's absence came up – as was inevitable – Jack had simply told them he was in the infirmary, but it wasn't serious. Just some broken ribs that made it painful for Ian to move about. Which was undoubtedly true. And that he'd be out soon. Which was almost definitely also true. Although Cassie knew there was more to it than that, she didn't let on, because she didn't know exactly what was going on, either, and knew better than to spread that information to the boys when Jack had purposely left it out. Shawn and River had told Jack to pass on a greeting to Ian and to let him know they'd bring him his homework for the next week if necessary. Then they'd turned their attention to the mothers in the group and the subject of Ian was allowed to drop.

Sam had greeted Shawn with a hug, and had held him a bit longer than usual. It was, after all, his first mother's day without Dotty, and she was well aware of the fact. He'd clung to her, and by the time they'd pulled apart they were both a little misty-eyed, but that was only to be expected.

"Happy Mother's day, Sam," Shawn had said, wiping his eyes quickly before handing her a poorly wrapped present. It wasn't that he hadn't had plenty of time to wrap it – he'd bought it for Sam a couple of weeks before – but he was a typical guy, and they didn't always wrap presents that well.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

He'd smiled, then, and while she opened it, River had joined them, the Californian's cheerful expression and good-natured teasing always enough to put a smile on the faces of those around him. Within minutes the sad moment had passed, and they were all able to face the rest of the day with far more cheer, and Shawn spent the day hanging out with his family – including his baby brother.

OOOOOO

"I'm not going to fall down dead."

Sam smiled, but didn't interrupt the conversation between Jack and Janet as the evening drew to a close.

"I know."

"Then can I go home instead of back to the infirmary?"

Since Janet had spent most of the afternoon surreptitiously watching to get an idea of how healthy Jack actually was and had found that he definitely seemed to be at least as healthy as he claimed to be, she nodded.

"I don't see why not."

"Really?"

He couldn't help but be surprised by her agreement. In fact, he'd been ready for a lengthy argument.

Janet had smiled.

"Yes, Colonel. As long as you promise to call me if you have any-"

"I'll call you the minute I have any… whatever it was you were going to say," Jack said, interrupting.

"Good. I'll see you in the infirmary first thing in the morning to make sure you're okay and to give you a final check up before I clear you for duty."

Jack had nodded, and had hustled his family – and River – out of there quickly after that, as if he was afraid Janet would change her mind. He was definitely ready to go home.


	16. 16

Ian slept through Mother's Day completely. Unconcerned about a present for his mother – since it had already been sent off and had been given to her that morning by his dad – he slept without that nagging sense of worry that something hadn't been taken care of. And although he had no answers to the dilemma of the secrets given away, he couldn't bring himself to worry about them enough to keep himself from sleeping well. It wasn't until several hours after midnight that he finally opened his eyes, and when he did, the infirmary was quiet and the lights were all dim, telling him without him having to really consider it that it was far later in the day than it had been the last time he'd woken.

Jaffer was gone – no big surprise there since a tired glance over at the bed that had held Jack proved it to be empty – but sometime in the night Jack (the dog) had entered the infirmary and decided that Ian's bed looked comfortable, and the yellow lab was sprawled beside him, snoring lightly.

The small ICU room he was in was empty, and Jack was the only one that heard Ian groan when he tried to sit up, pain lancing through his chest and belly from his badly battered ribs. He gave up, gasping, and stared at the ceiling for a minute, while Jack snuffled his neck and cheek, worried about the noises of pain that had woke him.

"Easy, big dog," Ian said, bringing his hand up to keep the lab from licking his face – which would be the next step, he knew. "I don't suppose you could go get me a glass of water?"

It had been said in jest – Jack and Jaffer would fetch many things, and cans of pop or bottles of beer were only a few – but a glass of water was a bit much to hope for. However, Jack sat up on the bed, looked down at Ian and started barking. It was a difference between Jaffer and Jack, because Jaffer rarely barked, and Jack was as vocal as they came. The noise didn't materialize a glass of water, but it did gain the attention of a couple of medics, and that was the next best thing, Ian supposed.

"Awake finally, I see…"

Which had to be the most redundant thing Ian had heard in quite a while. However, he wasn't in the mood to mention that. Instead he just nodded.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

The medic gave him a smile, and checked the monitors.

"Well, you had a rough few days, Cadet."

Ian ignored that – again, it was redundant.

"Can I have a glass of water?"

"Of course."

The other medic went to get the water – and to call Janet Fraiser, who had left orders that she was to be contacted if he woke up that evening, no matter what time. Ian looked at the monitors as well, but he didn't know exactly what he was looking for.

"What's wrong with me?"

"A couple of broken ribs, a bump on the head… you'll be fine."

Unless of course Hammond or Jack _killed_ him. Ian didn't say that, though. Instead he closed his eyes, too tired to really engage in any kind of conversation.

"Don't go back to sleep."

"I'm not."

He _was_, though. He didn't even make it long enough to get his glass of water. Before the medic returned, he was once more asleep.

OOOOOOOOO

When he woke up again, Janet Frasier was hovering over him, her hand running along his ribs, probing gently for signs of any kind of problems. It was the pain of that examination that woke him, and she gave him an apologetic smile when he winced as he opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ian. Just hang on another minute, I'm almost done…"

He was alone in his bed, now, but Sam was sitting on the bed that Jack had been in, watching as Janet examined Ian. He turned to her, feeling sick and achy.

"What time is it?"

She didn't even look at her watch.

"About 11:30, Monday morning."

"Monday?"

She nodded.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm okay."

"_You_ have a fever," Janet told him as she started bandaging his ribs once more. "How do you _really_ feel?"

Ian frowned.

"Sore and tired."

"Sick?"

Now that she mentioned it, his stomach was queasy – which was a pain in the ass, because he really wanted something to eat, and knew he wouldn't be able to hold it down.

"A little."

"Is that normal?" Sam asked, concerned.

"It's not that unusual," Janet told her. "He'll be fine, now that he's awake and we can keep track of his progress." She looked at Ian. "Are you hungry?"

He hesitated, and then shook his head. As much as ribs hurt, the last thing he wanted was to heave.

"We'll get you a slice of toast or something," Janet told him, as if she understood. "It'll stay down even if you're not feeling all that great, and you really do need to eat something."

She moved towards the door, gesturing for one of the corpsmen to come over so she could give him instructions, and Sam moved over to sit carefully on Ian's bed.

"You look better," she said, giving him a look that Ian couldn't even start to decipher.

"How was your Mother's day?"

He didn't want to discuss his health.

Sam smiled, and held out her hand.

"Look what Jack got me," she said, not at all fooled. "It's a mother's ring. One stone for me, one stone for Jake, and space for any more children that might come along."

Ian took her hand and looked at the ring dutifully. Jewelry wasn't something he was ever all that impressed with, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings by telling her that.

"It's nice."

She nodded.

"I think so."

There was a quiet moment between the two of then, and Sam reached out and ran her fingers along his cheek.

"General Hammond wants to talk with you…"

He nodded. That didn't surprise him.

"I figured he would."

"Are you up for it now?" She asked. "We can do it later…"

He shrugged.

"Whenever, Sam."

He wasn't looking forward to it, and he didn't see any sign of the help that Alexander had promised him, but there was no sense putting it off any longer than necessary.

"I'll go get him," she said, getting up. She stopped, though, and looked down at him. "Don't worry, okay?"

Easier said than done. Ian didn't say that, though. He just nodded and watched as Sam left the room.

Yeah, he was screwed.


	17. 17

Unfortunately, Janet was wrong. The toast didn't stay down. And even worse, Ian had been right about how badly it'd hurt coming back up. Janet supported his head while he heaved, but there was nothing she could do for his injured ribs, and by the time Hammond arrived in the ICU room with the rest of SG-1, Ian was trembling and pale and looking a lot worse than he had when he'd been brought into the infirmary in the first place.

"Is he all right?" Hammond asked Fraiser, concerned. It was one thing to be angry with the boy, after all, but the general was still worried about him.

Janet nodded, tossing a sympathetic look over towards Ian, who was assuring the others that he was feeling better than he looked – which Janet doubted.

"He's exhausted, and his ribs are giving him some trouble – which is making him nauseous… he'll be fine, though. When you're done with him I'm going to put him on some painkillers and put him back to sleep for a while, I think."

"Is that wise?"

She shrugged.

"He won't like it, but I'd rather have him healthy – and he's not going to get better if I don't do something."

Hammond nodded and left it at that. She was the doctor, after all. He walked over to Ian's bed and waited for everyone to gather around. The infirmary wasn't the best place for a debriefing, but Ian wasn't going to be moving around any time soon from the looks of things, and now that he was awake, Hammond wanted to find out what was going on with the boy as soon as possible.

Ian looked up at him, and there was a definite look of wariness in his expression – as if the cadet was expecting him to hit him or something.

"How are you feeling, son?"

"I'm fine, General Hammond."

Well, he didn't look fine, but that was the answer he'd expected Ian to give him.

"We're all a bit curious about this ability of yours, Ian," Hammond said, figuring it was as good a place to begin as any.

Ian nodded.

"Have you always been able to do it?" Sam asked, knowing Ian would need to be coaxed a bit to get him to say anything.

"No. Just since I met the Ancients."

That, of course, opened up a can of worms – although Ian had known it was going to. Which was why he'd said it. No sense beating around the bush, after all, and since Alexander had told him he could tell the rest of them what had happened, he was going to. Gladly. He hated keeping secrets.

"Excuse me?" Daniel said. "When did you meet the Ancients?"

"When I went to the Alpha site to 'recover' after Thanksgiving."

"There were Ancients there?" Hammond asked. "We would have been told if-"

"They weren't at the Alpha site," Ian said, interrupting. "They hijacked the gate, and…" Ian shrugged, unable to think of a better way of putting it. "They kidnapped me, and sent Jack back to the SGC with a fake set of memories, thinking he'd delivered me to the Alpha site."

"The Ancients did that?" Daniel asked. "Why would-"

"Let's start at the beginning," Hammond said, interrupting Daniel. Tell us what happened."

It would be a lot better than asking him a bunch of questions, and it would save time. Although Ian was awake, he looked terrible, and the general wasn't sure he was going to stay awake all that long.

Ian nodded, and was quiet for a minute as he tried to gather his thoughts. He remembered everything, yeah, but that didn't make him a good story teller, and although Alexander had told him he could tell them everything, he had a feeling it would be better to leave the fact that the whole thing had been centered around Jack out of the picture, because he didn't want Jack to feel like any of it was his fault. Instead, he told them that it was because the Ancients had been curious about his perfect memory – which wasn't a lie.

He told them about being hijacked, and being introduced to Alexander – although he didn't tell them the relationship between Alexander and Dotty – and he told them about how the Dotty he'd met was a different one than the one that they knew. Sam had started to interrupt, obviously fascinated by the alternate reality scenario, but Hammond kept her from doing it, and Ian was grateful for it. He told them about being taken to the Ancient's city, but left out his own speculation that it was Atlantis – which would have set Daniel off on a tangent of his own that Ian didn't feel like dealing with just then – and described the place fairly well when they showed an interest.

"That's the place you took me, isn't it?" Sam asked, recognizing it from the description. "That's how you knew there was a gate there; you'd been there."

Ian nodded.

"It was the only place I could think of – since I knew the ship we were in would fit there and I knew they didn't have an iris. I'd expected there to be people, though…"

Of course, he'd been so panicked at the time that he hadn't had a lot of options.

"So they tricked you into sticking your head in their repository of knowledge?" Jack asked, intrigued.

Ian nodded.

"They told me it was a test."

"Then what happened?"

"I passed out."

"But you didn't go crazy like I did…"

"Were they doing the same thing with you that they did with Jack?" Daniel asked.

Ian shook his head.

"This one was different than the one they used on Jack, they told me. It was supposed to be gradual – which is what went wrong with yours, Jack. Your mind couldn't cope with the influx of information coming at it so suddenly. This was supposed to go slower and make it so the person – me, in this case – would be able to adapt."

"And it worked?" Sam asked.

"It's had a few side-effects. I don't know that they expected me to figure out how to heal people, for one thing."

"Wait a minute," Jack said. "How can you _figure_ that out? Isn't it something that only Ancients can do?"

Ian shook his head.

"It's not an innate ability, Jack. It's something…" he shrugged. "I can't explain it… but anyone can do it – if they know how."

"And that was in the memory they gave you?"

He nodded.

"I don't know that it was supposed to be… but it was."

"When did you figure it out?"

"When I was with Sam." He looked over at her, apologetically. "I was floundering, really… I panicked, and it was all I could think of when I saw that she was in labor."

"And when Jake was born?" Jack asked.

Ian shook his head.

"He wasn't breathing, and I knew how important he was to you guys… I…"

"How did you learn so much about babies, though?" Janet asked, curiously. She'd been listening in on the conversation as well, and was just as flabbergasted. "In order to heal him, you'd have to understand all about the complexities of the human body, and infants – especially preemies – are so much different than adults. How did you know what to fix?"

"I didn't," Ian said. "But Jake did."

"Excuse me?"

Ian sighed. This was a digression he'd hoped to avoid until later.

"I don't have to know anything about anatomy – God knows I don't know shit about the inner workings of a woman's body when I helped Sam. Jake knew what his body was supposed to be like, though – all I had to do was supply the energy and the direction, and he took care of the rest."

"I don't understand…" Sam said. "How can-"

"I don't know, Sam." Ian admitted. "I don't do it like the Ancients do – they can heal with a touch and not wipe themselves out doing it – but it worked and I was desperate."

"Can you do it any time, then?" Daniel asked.

Ian nodded.

"After the first time, yeah…"

"But you can't heal yourself?" Janet asked.

Ian shook his head.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin if I wanted to try," he admitted. "No… I can't heal myself."

"But I can."

They all turned at the voice – a voice painfully familiar to most of them – and there was stunned silence in the room as Dotty Adams walked through the door.


	18. 18

"That's impossible…" Daniel said, softly, staring as Dotty walked across the room to the small group standing by the bed.

"You're… dead…" Jack said, just as softly, and looking just as shocked. "_Aren't_ you?"

Dotty smiled.

"I'm not the Dotty Adams _you_ knew, Colonel O'Neill."

"You're from an alternate reality?" Sam guessed. She, too, knew that it was impossible that this was _their_ Dotty.

"Yes."

Dotty walked up to the bed, and placed her hand gently on Ian's chest as the others stared, and then she closed her eyes. Immediately, the look of pain on Ian's face faded, and the cadet sighed in relief.

"How did you get in here?" Hammond asked as she removed her hand from Ian's chest and opened her eyes once more. "The gate-"

"I've been here a couple of days, General Hammond," Dotty replied. "With the death of my other self here I can move in this reality more easily and stay for longer periods of time. I came in through the gate with your SG team on Saturday and watched to see if it was going to become necessary to show myself."

"And it has?"

Dotty rested a hand lightly on Ian's arm.

"We got Ian into this. We weren't going to leave him to face it alone."

"You're from another _reality_?" Jack asked.

"Yes."

"But you're here, now? To stay, I mean?"

She shook her head.

"I can't do that, Colonel O'Neill."

"But _Shawn_-"

"I'm _not_ the same Dotty that raised Shawn in this reality," Dotty said, gently. "No more than he's the son I lost in my own. As much as I'd love for things to be different, he and I are almost strangers to each other and it wouldn't feel right. There are subtle differences… things that would show immediately to the ones we love… it wouldn't be fair to try…"

And she had obviously thought about trying.

"But-"

"Would you feel comfortable with a facsimile of your own son instead of the boy that you watched grow?"

It was a calculated question – and one that proved to Jack that this wasn't actually _his_ Dotty. His Dotty never would have asked such a cruel question, bringing up such painful memories. But it had the intended effect, and Jack hesitated, thinking about it before he answered.

"No."

As much as he wanted Charlie back, he wanted the _real_ Charlie. Not some copy.

"It'd feel just as odd for me and the Shawn of this reality. There are differences. Memories that he would have of us together that I wouldn't – and that I would have that _he_ wouldn't."

"That makes sense," Sam said, giving Jack a chance to recover from the question. She could see that it had thrown him just a little. "But you should still _see_ him. It might give him a sense of closure to have someone to say good-bye to…"

Dotty shook her head.

"I'd just hurt us both," she said, softly. "That was one of the reasons I stayed out of sight – I wanted to make sure you weren't going to call him in to take care of Ian's injuries."

"Call him…?" Jack repeated.

"_Shawn_ can heal?" Daniel asked.

Dotty shrugged.

"I'm not sure… he _is_ half Ancient, though, so it's possible. Of course, it's also possible that he only has a _latent_ ability to do it – like humans do – and would need to figure it out himself."

Sam couldn't believe she hadn't thought of the tie between Shawn and Dotty before. It was very possible he could heal people like Dotty could, and they should have at least _considered_ it – even if it didn't work.

"Latent?"

"The ability is there, but not the knowledge of how to use it," Dotty said. She looked at Ian. "You were right; when Alexander used the device on you, he _wasn't_ expecting that side effect. The knowledge to heal shouldn't have been given to you, because it's very dangerous for you to use it. The energy that you heal with comes from within you – and if you over exert yourself there's a very real possibility that you can kill yourself."

Ian shrugged.

"I had to do something."

"And we're glad you did," Dotty said, even as the others nodded. "But I'm warning you now to be careful. We don't want to lose you."

"I can agree with that," Sam said, smiling at Ian, who flushed at the sincerity in her voice.

"Just be careful, okay?" Dotty repeated.

Ian shrugged again; which is what he always did when he was uncomfortable.

"Okay."

"Now, what are Ancients from other realities doing in our own?" Hammond asked, drawing the topic off of Ian and back to what he was most interested in.

"We're keeping track of things," Dotty said. "In your reality, everything is so much different – for several different reasons – and were watching to see how things turn out."

"Why?" Jack asked. "What does our reality have to do with your own?"

Dotty smiled.

"Everything, of course. Mistakes made in one reality can be fixed in another – to make things better in that reality as well."

"So you're changing the course of events in each reality according to the lessons learned in a different one?" Sam asked.

"More or less. In this instance, your reality is so much different from the one I'm in – and most of the others – that we're extremely interested in how things are going to turn out here. Enough so that we're wiling to step in and try to help where we can."

"By kidnapping our kids and sticking their heads full-" Hammond started to say, only to be interrupted.

"Of useful information that may some day save your world the agony that my own has gone through…?" Dotty finished. "Yes. If that's what it takes. And I won't say I'm sorry, because I'm not."


	19. 19

"What _kind_ of agony?" Jack asked, taking the attention form Hammond, who had been floored by the vehemence of Dotty's response. "What's going to happen?"

"I can't tell you," Dotty said.

"Why not?" Sam asked. "It's not like you haven't already interfered or anything. You could just-"

"It's been tried. In several different realities people from other realities described in great detail what was coming – to help those who were facing what had already occurred on the other worlds."

"What happened?" Daniel asked in a hushed voice.

"It was a disaster," Dotty said. "_Every time_. Even the realities that _might_ have had a chance…"

"But-"

"I'm _not_ going to tell you, Colonel," she said, firmly.

Jack scowled and turned to Ian, who looked like he was feeling a lot better already – although he was rubbing his chest as if there was still an ache there.

"Do _you_ know?"

Ian shook his head.

"No."

"It's not something the download will have given him, Colonel, so don't bother grilling him for any answers. Just like the rest of you, he has a role to play in things that are coming – and we can't risk anyone knowing more than they need to."

"But-"

"For that matter, if not for the fact that Ian needed me here, I'd never have come, and you'd still be in the dark about any of this…"

Which was true enough – although Sam was already pretty sure she would have figured it out, and Fraiser had pretty much decided she'd have ended up killing Ian to dissect him and find out just what was going on inside that kid's body.

"So what do we do now?" Hammond asked.

"You continue doing what you've been doing."

"But we need to get ready for whatever this is that's-"

"You're already getting ready for it," she said, and for the first time her features softened. "You and your people are doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing – and you're doing very well, I assure you."

"But-"

She held up her hand and interrupted him before he could argue.

"We almost screwed it up _for_ you. Ian's memory is even more impressive than we thought, and we underestimated him – which isn't something we do all that often."

She threw a rueful look at the cadet, who wasn't watching her. He was distracted, and she knew from healing him what was wrong with Ian, but it wasn't something she could help him with – and something she wouldn't embarrass him by mentioning it in mixed company.

"But you didn't?" Sam asked. "Didn't screw it up, I mean?"

Dotty shrugged.

"We hope not. That's part of the reason I'm here, because we don't want you turning Ian into a lab rat trying to figure out what he knows and what he doesn't. If you do, everything's lost – for your reality, at any rate."

"And then what?" Daniel asked.

"Then we go on to a different reality and hope that that is the one that can-"

"Wait a minute," Jack said, scowling. "You're just going to leave us to face whatever it is that's coming?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"That's not-"

"You don't _need_ us, Colonel O'Neill. You and your team – and the rest of the SGC – are doing fine."

"But we-"

"Have more going for you than a lot of realities have. _Had_. And the best chance to make it. Just keep doing what you're doing."

"That's not very helpful, Dotty," Jack said, reprovingly.

She shrugged.

"It's all you get."

Bah.

She looked around, meeting the gaze of everyone in the room, and resting her hand lightly on Jaffer's head.

"I need to get back to my own place, now… Ian doesn't need me any longer, and the longer I'm here the more chance there is that I'll spill something I shouldn't."

"Why not stay for lunch, then?" Jack said.

Sam smiled.

"Where do you go from here?"

"It's a secret." She turned to Hammond. "I'd like to set the address of your dialing computer myself, if you don't mind?"

"And if I don't let you leave?" He asked.

She smiled, and there was suddenly an almost dangerous glint in her eyes.

"You couldn't keep me here, General. I assure you."

Yeah, he was pretty sure of that. Even without the confidence in her voice. Hammond nodded, and sighed.

"Very well… I'll show you to the control room."

"Thank you." Her smile was warm, once more, as she looked at the others. "You're doing great, I promise." And then she and Hammond left the room, leaving the rest of them in a slightly awed silence.

"So…" Daniel said, more to break the silence than anything else. "What do we do now…?"

"You're going to get out of my infirmary so I can give my patient an examination," Fraiser said, shooing them all towards the door. "You, too," she said, looking at Jaffer, who rumbled deep in his chest but got up from his warm comfortable spot next to Ian and hopped off the bed and joined Jack.

"Call when you're done," Sam requested. "I'd like a chance to talk to Ian…"

Janet was sure she did – and was just as certain that everyone else wanted a chance to talk to him, too. But she wasn't going to let anyone talk to him until she was done with him and was certain he was as healthy as he looked.

"I'll call you."

They left, with various backwards glances, and as soon as the door closed behind them, Janet turned to Ian.

"You're better, but there's something wrong, still, isn't there?"

He flushed, and nodded.

"I need that catheter out."


	20. 20

It was a silent group that walked out of the infirmary, each of them thinking about what they had heard – and not all _that_ interested in heading for the control center, where Hammond had probably already allowed Dotty (who wasn't _really_ Dotty – and didn't _that_ make you feel just a little odd? – access to the dialing computer so she could head back to where ever she was going. They'd be able to check the computer's memory for the address she went to, of course, but it probably wasn't her final destination or anything – and if that were the case, they wouldn't learn anything by going to the destination and checking it out.

"So…" Daniel, of course, was the first to speak. His analytical mind was just as quick as Sam's, and unlike her, he was far more accustomed to the abnormal. After all, _Daniel_ had believed in aliens long before Sam had even heard of the SGC – and had been on another world by the time she'd joined up and had met Jack. "That was… _interesting_…"

Jack scowled.

"That's one word I'd use…"

Sam frowned at the annoyance in Jack's voice and realized that he was angry. _What_ he was angry about, however, was more important, because she was worried it was Ian he was mad at – and that just wasn't acceptable.

"What other word would you use?" She asked, more to feel him out than anything.

"A _waste of time_?" He said, looking over at her.

"What do you mean, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Dotty – a Dotty that isn't _our_ Dotty – comes from another reality just to tell us something bad is coming, but then won't tell us what it is? What good is that to us?"

"She didn't _just_ come to warn us, Jack," Daniel said, catching Jack's annoyance as well. "She healed Ian, too."

"Which I'm grateful for," Sam said, firmly.

Jack looked over at her, and his irritation faded – the annoyance in his brown eyes did, anyways.

"Yeah… I am, too."

Which told Sam that he wasn't mad at Ian.

"So you're mad that she came and warned us?"

Daniel, too, had noticed Jack was mad.

"I'm not _mad_, Daniel," Jack said, scowling over at the archeologist. "I'm… well, I don't know _what_ I am. But I don't know why she didn't just come out and say what's going to happen instead of leaving us in a state of uncertainty."

"A warning is better than nothing."

"Maybe to _you_," Jack said, darkly. "_I_ like to know what to expect."

Which was understandable considering that he was a commanding officer of a military unit. It wasn't exactly an occupation that was prone to enjoying surprises – which explained why Jack was annoyed.

Of course, there was more to it – the sudden arrival of Shawn's mom had shocked Jack and had him worried for a moment – a selfish moment – that he was going to lose the boy. And then, perversely, he'd been annoyed that she hadn't wanted to see him – and was even more annoyed that she had used Jack's son Charlie as an example. He'd been hurt, first, but as always with Jack, hurt soon turned to anger, and he was pretty much fuming the more he thought about it.

"_I'd_ like to talk to Ian about what else he knows," Daniel said, to change the subject and give Jack a chance to calm down a little about Dotty.

"I would, too," Sam admitted. "When Janet lets us."

"I'd like to know why he didn't tell us what was going on," Jack said, and although he was still angry, he wasn't quite as mad as he had been.

"Or why we didn't notice ourselves?" Daniel asked.

Jack scowled.

"Ian's _always_ been erratic, Daniel."

Sam smiled, and headed down the hall towards her lab.

"Where are you going?" Jack asked.

"I want to get something."

"What?"

"_Something_. I'll be right back."

"But-"

She grinned, because his own curiosity was taking care of the remaining annoyance quite nicely.

"I'll be right back."

They all watched as she walked down the corridor and vanished around the first corner and Jack looked down at Jaffer.

"Go keep an eye on her little man."

Jaffer wagged his tail and headed down the corridor as well, with Jack (the dog) right behind him.

"What do _we_ do?" Daniel asked.

Jack shrugged.

"We'll just wait, I guess."

Like they had much choice?

OOOOOO

Luckily for Ian's modesty, Janet didn't remove the catheter for him. Instead she went and called for a male doctor to take care of it for her, and while it didn't take long to remove, it _wasn't_ comfortable for him. By the time Janet returned, Ian was dressed in a pair of pajama bottoms, sitting up in his bed, and fairly sore – but only in one spot.

"How do you feel?" She asked him, coming over to his bed and looking over at the monitors that were still keeping track of his vital signs. Everything looked fine to her, and she could tell by his manner that he wasn't hurting nearly as bad as he had been – even with the irritation that she knew he had to be feeling under his belt.

"Better."

He was watching her warily, and Janet knew he was expecting her to start asking him questions any minute. Of course, she wanted to ask him a million of them, but it wasn't the time – and she figured Colonel O'Neill and the others would have questions of their own, and some would undoubtedly be the very same as the ones she wanted to ask. She'd just have to listen in on the discussion, that was all.

"Hungry?"

He nodded. He'd been hungry before, but with the nausea he'd suffered from, there was no way he'd have asked for something to eat. Now, he was beyond hungry – since there wasn't any pain or sickness to take his mind off his hunger, which only amplified it.

"_Starving_."

"I'll have someone get you something to eat, and then I'm sure everyone else will want to have a chat with you."

"Oh, I _bet_ they will…"

There was no hiding the sarcasm in his voice, or the concern.


	21. 21

Sam wasn't back when Fraiser walked out of the infirmary, but the others gathered around her, accosting her before she could leave the area.

"How is he?" Jack asked.

She smiled.

"He'll be fine, Colonel."

"Can we see him?"

"He's eating."

"I've seen him eat before, doc. It's not going to gross me out. Besides, Sam will want to know how he's doing…"

Which was a calculated comment to let him see Ian when she might not have been planning on allowing it. Janet wasn't fooled at all, of course.

"Fine, Colonel. But only until I get back from reporting to General Hammond."

Jack wasn't the only one to crowd past her as soon as she gave permission. Teal'c and Daniel were just as concerned – _and_ just as curious to talk to him.

Sure enough, Ian was in the middle of eating when they walked into the room. It was typical sick person food: soup, a sandwich, and a cup of jello, but Ian was wolfing it down with typical enthusiasm. He stopped, though, when Jack and the others walked in, and like everyone else, Jack could read the wariness in Ian's expression. And understood it completely.

"How ya feeling?"

Ian shrugged.

"I'm okay."

"Ribs still hurt?"

He shook his head.

"They're fine."

Jack reached out and poked him in the side, which had been unwrapped since the bandages weren't necessary to protect the ribs any longer. Sam walked in just as Jack was poking Ian, but she didn't say anything. She simply walked over to the side of the bed, standing between Teal'c and Daniel while Jaffer and Jack (the dog) both hopped up on the bed so they could see what was going on – and hopefully mooch some of the sandwich they could both smell.

"Did that hurt?"

While it didn't actually tickle, it certainly didn't hurt, but Ian rubbed the spot automatically, the memory of just how bad his sides had been hurting only a short time ago making him a little sensitive to being poked.

"No."

"Good." Jack poked him again. "Why didn't you _tell_ us what was going on? You don't hide something like that from your teammates."

Ian flushed.

"What was I _supposed_ to say, Jack? 'Hey, funny thing happened to me on the way to the Alpha site… these aliens – _you_ know them; Dotty? Only from another reality that isn't the same as this one? – abducted me and carried me off in their space ship to another planet where they tricked me into sticking my head into some crazy device that supposedly was going to give me tons of knowledge that no one else has and then just sent me on my way?"

Jack scowled.

"Yes."

Ian snorted and shook his head.

"You would have had me in the first padded room you could find. Especially since you had no memory of me even missing."

"You don't know that. We might have believed you."

"No… you'd have had Doctor Fraiser run a bunch of tests, and they would have come back clean – or negative, or whatever it is – and I'd have never been allowed back through the Stargate – or for that matter, back to the academy."

It was obvious he'd given it a lot of thought, and Jack had to admit that he was probably right. Especially since Fraiser said that the change in Ian's brain had been so gradual that she hadn't noticed the difference.

"We might have," he said stubbornly, poking Ian again – just because.

"You might have, _now_," Ian said, pushing his hand away before he could poke him again. It didn't really hurt, but he was poking him in the same spot over and over and that wasn't comfortable. "But not then."

"Is that how you knew how to fly that Ancient ship?" Sam asked. "By watching them when they took you?"

Ian shook his head, grateful to Sam for changing the subject.

"I didn't fly that ship, Sam. I don't know how to. I'm pretty sure it flew itself – I just gave it the gate address once it found a gate for me."

"To Atlantis?" Daniel said, quickly, jumping on the subject that he was most curious about – the Ancient city that Ian and Sam had been to, where Jake had been born. Ian had mentioned it and the word Atlantis in the same sentence, after all, and Daniel was certain, especially now, that Ian had known more than he even knew he knew.

The cadet, however, shrugged. He wasn't going to swear to something that he wasn't sure of.

"I don't know, Daniel. Whatever it is, it's a lot different here than it was in the other reality."

Sam held up the item she'd gone back to her lab for; the space ship that Ian had built out of legos when he'd been recovering from their trip.

"Is this an Ancient space craft?" She asked.

He shook his head.

"It's just something I came up with to fit my drive in."

"Is the drive Ancient?"

"No. Sorry."

She smiled, thinking that he had no reason to apologize for being smart – even without the Ancient download – but before she could say anything, Daniel spoke up again.

"You have the same memories that Jack had?"

"I don't know what Jack had."

"You read about that thing he built? That power doubler thing, or whatever it was?"

Ian nodded.

"Could you build one?"

Ian shrugged, feeling just a little overwhelmed by all the questions being thrown at him so quickly, although he understood they were curious. At least they didn't seem to be mad at him, and that was a relief.

"Probably."

"Will you?"

"Why? What would you do with it?"

"Go back to that city," Daniel said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wrinkled napkin. On that napkin was an eight-symbol address, in Ian's handwriting. "This is Atlantis, I'm almost positive."

"There's no one there, Daniel. The place is empty."

"So?"

"How would you get home?"

Daniel frowned.

"You and Sam got back with Jacob…"

"I don't know how we did it, though," Sam said. "I wasn't conscious, and neither was Ian. We don't even know if there's a dial home device there – or what the point of origin is, for that matter…"

Daniel frowned again. He hadn't considered that.

"Well… it's probably worth the risk," he said, finally. "I-"

"What's going on in here…?"

All of them jumped, guiltily, as Janet Fraiser walked into the little room, scowling.


	22. 22

"We were just… talking…" Jack said, quickly, instantly on the defensive.

"You _said_ we could talk to him," Daniel said, just as quickly.

"I said you could _see_ him," Janet said walking over and resting the back of her hand on Ian's forehead before he could pull his head away. "He's supposed to be eating, not being grilled by you four."

"But-"

Janet cut Jack off before he could say anything else.

"General Hammond wants to see you, Colonel. And the rest of you, too, I believe."

Ian started to shift, as if he were going to get up, and Janet put her hand squarely in the middle of his chest, pushing him back into the pillows that had been gathered behind him.

"Not you, Cadet. You're going to eat, and get some rest."

"I feel fine, Doctor Fr-"

"I'll be the judge of that," she said, although her voice wasn't as authoritative as she usually was and there was a glint of humor in her eyes. "Do as I say, and I'll probably release you in the morning."

"What?" This was from Jack, who had – of course – been listening. "He gets to go home _tomorrow_?"

"_If_ he does what I tell him."

"I had to be here for _days_!"

Janet smiled.

"Let's just say that I trust Dotty Adams' healing abilities a lot more than I trust _Ian's_."

"But-"

"General Hammond wants to see you, Colonel," Fraiser reminded him, pleased that she'd been able to goad the colonel. She really didn't get as many chances to do that as she'd have liked – and it was seldom that she came off best in an argument with him.

"But-"

"Come on, Jack," Sam said, taking his hand and heading for the door after giving Ian a smile. "We'll have plenty of time to talk to Ian later."

He scowled, but of course he didn't pull away from Sam, no matter how annoyed he was – or was _pretending_ to be – he'd never pull his hand out of Sam's.

"Come on, guys."

The others turned away as well – although Daniel really looked like he wanted to stay and continue the conversation no matter what Janet wanted. Jack (the dog) and Jaffer watched them all leave, but when no one actually called to them to follow, both labs stayed on the bed. Ian had food, after all, and they knew that if they turned on the charm and the sad puppy dog eyes, they'd have food, too.

"You okay?" Janet asked.

"Are you really going to let me out of here tomorrow?"

She nodded.

"I probably could do it today, but I'm going to keep you here, just to be on the safe side. I want to make sure you eat, and get a good night's sleep before I turn you loose."

He didn't even complain about it – mainly because he was so surprised she wasn't going to keep him here any longer than necessary. He was hungry, and surprisingly tired – which was a result of Dotty's healing – so he wasn't quite ready to go home yet, anyways.

"Thanks."

Janet smiled, and gestured to his plate, which he'd ignored while he'd been talking to SG-1.

"Eat."

"Yes, ma'am."

She snorted and left him alone, then, and Ian picked up his sandwich. Both labs watched his every move, and their eyes were glued to the sandwich with looks of yearning that he tried very hard to ignore. He was hungry!

"I _have_ a dog, you know?" He said to them both as he took a bite. "_I'm_ immune to your sad puppy-eyed bullshit."

They stared as he chewed, and a thin line of drool started dribbling from Jaffer's jowls. Jack whined softly, plainly telling Ian that he was absolutely starving and was going to die if he didn't get a bite. Ian sighed, and ripped the rest of his sandwich in two, and handed it over to them. They took it from his hands carefully, but gobbled it down so quickly that if he hadn't known Teal'c and Jack better, he would have thought they'd forgotten to feed their dogs that morning.

"No more, though, guys," he said, scowling at his own gullibility. "The soup's mine…"

Jaffer sniffed, but he didn't turn away. Soup wasn't one of his favorite foods, but he was willing to make an exception in this case, and he was pretty sure Ian would eventually give in to his considerable charm. It was just a matter of time, after all…

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hammond's office door was open when they arrived, so Jack simply knocked on the frame. The general was on the phone, but he gestured for them all to enter, and as they sat down in the chairs around the desk, he hung up.

"Doctor Fraiser said you wanted to see us, sir?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Colonel," Hammond said. "I wanted to talk to you about replacing Ian on SG-1." Hammond turned to Sam. "Major? Are you ready to-"

"_Replacing_, sir?" Jack interrupted.

"Yes, Colonel."

"Why would we do that?"

Hammond frowned, as if Jack had just asked him a stupid question.

"We certainly can't risk having him in the field, Colonel… the boy's carrying around the knowledge of the Ancients in his head. What if something happened to him? We'd lose all access to that information. Information that we'll probably need some day."

"He's not going to like that, sir," Jack said, frowning. It was just as obvious that Jack didn't like it, either.

"He doesn't _have_ to like it, Colonel. I'm doing it for his own good. We need that information. Imagine what he can tell us."

"And how are you going to get him to tell you?" Jack asked. "Especially if you alienate him by removing him from the team?"

"I'm not _removing_ him from the team, Colonel," Hammond said, irritated. "I'm… just putting him in a safer environment. Could you _imagine_ what we would have lost if Ian had been killed out there? He's much better off here, in a lab, than he is-"

'I can tell you what _I_ would have lost if he had been stuck in a lab," Sam said, speaking up and uncharacteristically interrupting Hammond. "Jack wouldn't have made it back if Ian hadn't been there to keep him alive when he'd been shot."

"And in doing so Ian risked his own life," Hammond replied.

"I'm not sure how that's a bad thing, general," Daniel said, frowning. "Besides, what if we find something we don't understand while we're out there some day and need Ian with us… only to have him cooped up in a lab?"

"Then you can bring it back," Hammond told him. "And Ian can tell you _all_ about it in the safety of-"

"Sir," Jack interrupted again. "You're making a mistake. Ian's-"

"I'm not going to argue with you about this colonel," Hammond said, irritably. "The boy's going to stay in a lab, where he can be-"

"Do you intend to handcuff him to the table, General Hammond?" Teal'c asked.

"Of course not."

"Then you will undoubtedly have trouble keeping him there."

"He'll do as he's told."

"And if he does not?" Teal'c asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hammond hesitated.

"He will."

"Or _else_?" Jack asked, sarcastically. The colonel was seriously angry that Hammond was even considering what he was considering, and wasn't about to hide that – even from his commanding officer. "You can't bully him, sir. It'd be a huge mistake, and I won't allow it."

"It's not your concern, colonel," Hammond told him.

"I'm his commanding officer, and I won't sign the transfer papers."

"I'm _your_ commanding officer, and you _will_ sign the papers, Colonel…"

"General Hammond," Teal'c said, standing. "I agree with O'Neill. If you attempt to treat Ian Brooks as a mere tool, then I will be forced to withdraw from the SGC."

"What?" Hammond stared.

Teal'c met that incredulous stare with a calm gaze.

"I will not be party to such an action – nor will I be allied with one who would do so. And I dare say that Bra'tac will agree with me."

Which was a not so thinly veiled threat that the SGC would lose the support of the Jaffa. Although it sounded insane, Hammond was well aware that Bra'tac was truly fond of Ian – probably as much as Jack and the others were – if not more.

"Not to mention what Nathan would say," Jack added, seizing the advantage while they had it. "I can't imagine he'd appreciate you turning his son into a lab rat…"

"Why are you people arguing with me about this?" Hammond asked, frustrated. "You heard what Dotty said; there's something coming and we need to get ready for it."

"I also heard her say that we were doing what we should be doing," Daniel said. "Which means that we might ruin everything if you make such a drastic change in things…"

Hammond scowled, but it was apparent to all of them that he hadn't really thought about that.

"Think of it this way, sir," Sam said, quickly. "What if there's something out there that we need – or a group of people out there that we need to meet – and Ian's the only one that will recognize the importance of it? We can't risk losing that advantage."

"And he's just as safe with us as he will be in some lab," Daniel agreed. "Especially if he doesn't want to be in the lab in the first place."

"Assuming he doesn't tell you just what to do with your lab idea," Jack added, certain that Ian would never agree to something like this, and would never be cajoled into it. Not by Hammond, not by Jack, and probably not even by Sam – provided she was even willing to try. Which she wasn't.

"I'll think about it," Hammond said, finally. He'd had enough of all of them for now. "Get out of my office."


	23. 23

Predictably, Jack was fuming when they left Hammond's office, although he managed to hold it in long enough to get out of earshot of the general – and therefore avoid saying anything to the man that he'd regret later. After all, they owed Hammond far more than they'd ever be able to repay, and even angry Jack _knew_ that. But he _was_ furious, and typically, he vented as soon as he could – and to the rest of his team.

"Can you _believe_ that?" He said, shaking his head.

They didn't have to ask what, of course.

"I'm sure he was just trying to do what he thought was best, Jack…" Daniel said.

"It doesn't mean it's the right thing to do," Jack snapped.

"Of course not," Daniel agreed. "But you can sort of see where he was coming from… Ian's in danger every time he goes offworld, after all, and with the information he possesses, I can understand why General Hammond would want-"

"Whose side are you on?"

Daniel didn't even take it personally. After all, he wasn't the one Jack was mad at, and he knew it.

"I'm sure he'll reconsider it," Sam said, putting her arm through Jack's before he could move away. "Once he has a chance to think things through."

He scowled, but it wasn't directed at any of them.

"Maybe…"

She smiled, and leaned against him. Aside from the four of them the corridor was empty, so she didn't feel at all guilty about the display of affection.

"He probably will."

Jack grunted.

"So…" Daniel said. "Do we go tell Ian what we-"

"No. He doesn't need to know."

Sam nodded her agreement. If Jack had taken the idea badly, _Ian_ would take it far worse, and there was really no telling what he'd do – and Ian had a tendency at times to act rashly.

"We'll wait until we know more," she said. "No sense getting him worked up when it's probably going to be for nothing."

The others nodded, although Teal'c looked as if he wanted to say something more. He didn't, though, and Sam turned to Jack.

"Don't you have paperwork you should be doing?"

Jack scowled, again, although this time it was for a completely different reason.

"I thought I'd go check on Ian…"

"He's eating."

"He might be done."

"Then he's _supposed_ to be sleeping."

"But-"

"_You_ just don't want to do your paperwork."

"No… I _want_ to do it… I just… have to look out for the members of the team, right?"

Sam smiled. He was a much better liar than Ian was, but she wasn't fooled for an instant.

"Go do your paperwork, Colonel. Otherwise it'll build up on you and you'll end up buried underneath it and we won't get any time together next weekend."

That was a calculated comment, because Sam knew that he wanted to go away for the weekend next weekend, and the threat of not being able to – because of his procrastinating – was more than enough to change his mind. Although he really didn't want to change his mind!

"Fine. I'll go do my paperwork…"

"Good."

"As soon as I go get Jaffer…"

"I'll get Jaffer."

Jack sighed mournfully, but leaned over and kissed her softly.

"I'll be in my office."

"Yes, sir."

He gave her a small smile and left them, heading down the corridor for the elevator, and Daniel looked over at Sam.

"Smooth."

She smiled.

"As angry as he is, there's no way Ian wouldn't have caught on that something is going on. He's already so uncertain of himself – the last thing we need is for him to find out Hammond doesn't want him off world. No matter that it's for his own protection. He wouldn't see it that way."

"Of course not," Daniel agreed. "He's young."

"Which does not make him foolish," Teal'c said.

Sam nodded.

"I'm going to go get Jaffer. Do you want Jack?"

Teal'c nodded.

"I will be in the armory."

"I'll come find you."

Daniel sighed.

"Since everyone else is working, I might as well go work on those glyphs that SG-3 found on P10-998."

"Well, that's why they pay you the _big_ bucks," Sam reminded him with a smile. She patted his arm and headed for the infirmary.

"They're not _that_ big," Daniel grumbled, heading off to his office as well.

OOOOOOOOOO

Janet intercepted Sam as soon as she entered the infirmary.

"Everything okay?"

Sam looked over towards the door to the room Ian was in, and saw it was closed.

"I'll tell you later."

"He's asleep," Janet said, wondering what it could be.

"Yeah, but I don't want anything to get spread around."

Meaning that the staff might overhear something, and maybe discuss it within earshot of Ian.

Janet nodded, and Sam looked over at the door again.

"He's asleep?"

The doctor nodded again, and smiled, gesturing for Sam to follow her. She opened the door just a bit, and Sam peeked her head in. With the loss of the IV and the catheter, Ian had sprawled into his normal sleeping position – which meant he was on his belly – and he had one arm draped over Jaffer, who was sprawled just as bonelessly beside him. Jack (the dog) was on the other side, curled up against Ian with his head resting on the New Yorker's bare lower back, a small puddle of drool forming as he stared at the bowl of jello Ian hadn't managed to stay awake long enough to eat, but that Jack was too well trained not to steal.

"_Should_ he be sleeping?" Sam asked, worried. He'd already slept almost three days, after all.

"I'm pretty sure it has something to do with being healed," Janet told her, closing the door so they wouldn't disturb him. "If he's still asleep when I get ready to go home, then I'll worry."

If Janet wasn't worried, then Sam wasn't going to worry, either. And Teal'c and Jack would just have to do without their dogs for a while, too.

"If he wakes up, call me, will you?" She asked. "I'll be in my lab."

Janet nodded.


	24. 24

This would have been up earlier... except for obvious reasons!

OOOOOO

When Sam came in to the infirmary to check on Ian after lunch, she found him still asleep – although Jaffer and Jack were both wide awake now and had moved down to the foot of the bed where they were lounging more because they didn't feel like getting up than because they were acting as pillows or guards.

"You two are lazy," Sam chided them, waling over and setting a brown paper bag down on the stand beside his bed – the dishes from his breakfast had long since been gathered up by a corpsman.

Jaffer wagged his tail, while Jack rolled over and presented his belly to her for some serious scratching. Yup! They were lazy! When they could get away with it, anyways, and Ian was obviously not planning on going for a run any time in the next few hours – which made him safe to hang out with.

She smiled and scratched Jack for a moment with one hand, the other rubbing Jaffer's ears, and then settled herself on the edge of Ian's bed, reaching out and sliding her hand along his back. Janet might not be worried about him sleeping, but Sam wanted him awake so she could be sure he was doing okay.

Ian moved slightly when he felt her hand on him, and Sam smiled. She had wondered briefly if she was going to need to bring Cass in to wake him, but it didn't look like it was going to be necessary. Her hand moved to his cheek, and he opened an eye, looking up at her.

"Hmm?"

"Good morning."

"'s morning?"

He turned his head, while at the same time bringing his hand out from where it had been trapped under his stomach, so he could look at his watch.

Sam shook her head.

"It's early afternoon…"

Ian frowned, and opened the other eye, looking around with that gentle dazed look that she loved seeing in Jack. It was just as amusing in Ian.

"I can go?" He asked.

"No." She knew what he meant automatically, and shook her head. "It's not tomorrow, yet."

"Still today?"

"Yes."

And this conversation could get really confusing if they kept it up, so Sam brushed her fingers through his hair to get him to hold his head still – and was surprised that it worked. She was amazed sometimes that things that worked on Jacob also worked just as well on Jack or Ian.

"How do you feel?"

"Sleepy."

"Besides sleepy?"

He shrugged.

"Okay." His dark eyes met hers, and he hesitated. "Is Jack mad at me?"

Sam shook her head.

"No. He's not mad. None of us are. You had some good reasons why you hid what had happened, and the more we think about them, the more sense they make."

"What about General Hammond?"

It was her turn to hesitate.

"He's not mad, either."

Ian, of course, caught the hesitation. She didn't do it very often, after all, and he was more awake now.

"But…?"

She sighed.

"But… he's worried about what we might lose if something happened to you off world."

"He's going to kick me off SG-1?"

There was definite hurt in Ian's eyes now, and Sam shook her head.

"Not if we have anything to say about it, Ian," she assured him. "Jack's already flat out told him that he needs you there, and Daniel and Teal'c said much the same thing."

"What about you?" Ian asked.

"What do you mean?"

Ian shrugged again.

"You must be itching to get back into the swing of things – to rejoin Jack and the rest of them…"

Sam smiled and shook her head, touching his cheek again.

"I'm not." She told him. "Not really." She looked over at Jaffer and Jack. "I think about it every now and then, and I get scared about what will happen to Jake if something were to go wrong and Jack and I were killed offworld on a mission…"

"I'd take care of him," Ian said, taking her hand. "He's my Godson, after all…"

Sam smiled, and squeezed his hand lightly.

"I _know_ you would, Ian… but I'm not sure I'm willing to risk allowing him to lose both parents at once. He's a baby now and wouldn't remember it, but if it happened later… it'd be horrible for him… and…" she trailed off, tears stinging her eyes and a lump rising in her throat at the very thought of leaving her baby alone.

He didn't say anything, giving her a chance to catch her breath, and reel her emotions back in, and Sam sniffed, and shrugged.

"Any ways… I'm not in any hurry to rush back offworld… not just yet, anyways."

"I understand."

"Besides… I have a lot of things to do in my lab before I go off looking for more gadgets on different planets."

Ian smiled.

"I'll help you, you know?"

"I'm counting on it." She had already been counting on it – but now that they had access to who knew what kind of Ancient technology, she was really hoping to learn a lot more. Later, though. He wasn't going to be allowed to hop out of bed and go rushing to her lab that afternoon, after all. "I should let you rest…"

He scowled.

"I'm rested."

"Then how about this…?" she asked, reaching out and picking up the bag she'd dropped on the stand.

Ian sat up a little more – making sure with a surreptitious glance that he was still wearing pajama bottoms – and took the bag from her. It was heavy, and smelled delicious.

"What is it?"

"Lunch."

"Does Doctor Fraiser know you brought it in?" He asked, looking in the bag and finding fries and a couple of large wrapped objects that had to be burgers – although he supposed they could have been chicken sandwiches.

"Meaning do you have to hide it if she comes in?"

He smiled.

"Yeah."

"No. She knows I brought it, and it's okay for you to have."

Excellent.

Jaffer and Jack both sat up as well, looking at the bag eagerly. It was chicken sandwiches, all right. They could smell it. Drool already started to form on Jaffer's jowls. Sam looked over at the dogs, and stood up.

"I'll leave you alone to eat, but we'll come by and see you before we head home this afternoon, okay?"

He nodded.

"Thanks, Sam…"

She smiled, and once more felt a little weepy-eyed.

"Thank _you_, Ian."

He blushed, and looked down at his hands, uncomfortable, and her smile broadened. God, she could embarrass him so easily. She couldn't wait to do it to Shawn and Jacob, as well.

"Come on, Jaffer… Jack… let's let the man eat in peace."

And without her making him blush.

Jaffer looked over at her, incredulous that she wanted him to leave when Ian was just starting to open the bag. Jack whined softly, just as eager to stay.

"Come on…" she repeated.

With a mournful sigh, both labs took a last look at Ian, and then hopped down off the bed.

Damn!


	25. 25

Despite Sam's assurances, Ian gave Janet a slightly guilty look when she walked in on him as he was finishing up the last of the chicken sandwiches. The rest of the meal was gone – he'd been really hungry once he'd woken up enough to realize it, and even though he'd eaten a fairly large amount of food, he really wouldn't have minded more.

"Still awake, I see," Janet said, reaching out and picking up the clipboard that held his chart. "That's good."

He nodded, swallowing the last bite of sandwich.

"I'm sure you're tired of hearing this, but how do you feel?"

"I'm okay."

"Tired?"

"No."

"Good."

She was worried he might have a lingering lethargy after sleeping for so long, but he didn't look all that tired, which made her believe he was telling the truth.

"Can I go home?"

"Not today."

He sighed, and Janet popped a thermometer in his mouth.

"What you can do is call Cassie sometime this afternoon for me and tell her that you're not dying."

He looked at her, his expression curious enough that he didn't even have to ask her what she meant.

"General Hammond hasn't allowed her down here – we didn't know what was wrong with you, after all, and Cassie isn't really in the loop when it comes to the secrets on the base – and she's been driving me crazy. If you call her, you can tell her that you're fine, and you'll be out of here in the morning."

Ian nodded, and Janet looked at her watch and pulled the thermometer out of his mouth and checked it.

"No fever. That's good."

"I'm fine," Ian repeated.

"Let me be the judge of that, okay?"

He sighed and nodded.

"What I want is for you to get up and walk across the room for me."

She stepped back and watched him intently as he stood up and walked across the room. There was no way she was going to release him from her care until she was sure he had full mobility and wasn't going to get dizzy and fall off his balcony or something.

OOOOOOOOO

The phone rang, and Cassandra Fraiser reached out without looking and picked it up on the second ring, a scowl on her face at being interrupted while she was working on her Summer reading assignment for John's Hopkins.

"Hello?"

"Hi."

The scowl faded immediately, and Cassie dropped her book, standing up with a smile and walking over to the sofa and flopped down on it.

"Ian! How are you?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Are you _really_ fine, or just saying you're fine so I won't worry?"

"Nah, I'm really okay," he said, and she could hear the amusement in his voice – and if she closed her eyes she could visualize the same amusement in his expressive dark eyes. "You're mom just gave me a clean bill of health."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So what was wrong with you?"

There was a hesitation, now, and Cassie knew before he said it that he wasn't going to tell her.

"I can't tell you that, Cassandra. Not unless they give me permission to."

"But-"

"I'm sorry. You know how it is."

She sighed, but she didn't argue with him. Mainly because it wouldn't do her any good to argue with him, and she new it. Besides, she didn't want to argue.

"Okay. Can you tell me when you get to go home?"

"Tomorrow."

"Morning?"

"I'll be released from the infirmary tomorrow morning, but I'm going to work here tomorrow, so I won't actually be home until tomorrow night."

"Will you feel up to doing anything?"

"I was hoping you'd want to…"

Cassie smiled again, feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

"Okay."

"I'll come and get you sometime after 6:00 or so. You decide between now and then what you want to do, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'd better go… I'll see you tomorrow."

Cassie nodded, even though he couldn't see it.

"I love you."

Again the hesitation, and it made her smile grow into a grin, because she could just picture him on the other line, trying to figure out how to tell her he loved her, too, without actually saying it where someone might hear it – and who knew who might be listening in on the phone call? After all, the SGC was a military instillation, and they did have to occasionally monitor things for security purposes. Cassie new it, and Ian did as well.

"I… well… you know… do, too…"

She laughed. That was about the worst she'd ever heard, but it meant a lot to her anyways.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

She hung up, and went back to her reading, far more cheerfully than she'd been when she'd started reading.


	26. 26

"Can I ask you a question?"

Ian looked over at Sam, and nodded.

"Sure."

"Do you _really_ have trouble with this?"

They were in his little room, and Sam was sitting on the edge of his bed, Jake cuddled in one arm, drooling all over her as he alternated between gnawing on her forearm and wriggling in her now expert grip. In a matter of only an hour or so, Ian – who was feeling better, and was therefore heartily in need of something to do to keep himself occupied – had managed drive Janet crazy, and she'd suggested that maybe he could use the idle time to get some of his homework from the academy finished.

It had been as good an idea as any, and Ian had started in on his work, only to find that the work that he'd been given for the week was about as complicated as any he'd seen. Of course, he was already doing the same course work that most of the Senior class was doing – only three years ahead of himself – so it wasn't a big surprise, especially when you stopped to consider that the end of the school year was coming and Finals were upon them.

So he'd asked Janet if she'd ask Sam if she had a minute to help him out, and Sam, of course, had been willing. Ten minutes later, she'd entered his room with Jacob in her arms, and had sat down on his bed, easily managing the textbook, a pen, and the baby all at once.

"What do you mean?" Ian asked.

Sam smiled.

"It's not really all _that_ complicated, is it?"

"It's not beginning algebra, Sam," he said, a little defensively, despite himself.

"But you have all the knowledge of the _Ancients_ stuck in your head, Ian," she said, realizing she needed to explain what she'd meant. "They must have known all about bilinear sciences and the-"

He realized what she meant, and shook his head, interrupting her explanation.

"They knew it – and I know some of it, but not all of it. The problem with that, though, is that the Ancients don't know about Einstein, and they don't have the same equations that we have, and they sure as shit don't know who invented which theories here on earth… It's not information that I have, and it's all just as new to me as it is to everyone else in the class."

She hadn't actually thought of it that way, but the more he explained it, the more she realized that it made sense. They probably didn't even think the same way that Earthlings did, for that matter.

"How have you been managing to cope with all of it?" Sam asked, curiously, shifting Jake over to the other arm before he slimed the one he'd been gnawing on so thoroughly that she dropped him. "Earth thinking and Ancient thinking, dealing with the SGC things and the Academy – and all the other stuff that's been going on… it must be an enormous amount of stuff to deal with…"

He blushed, and shrugged, and then looked away – like he always did when he was embarrassed.

"I've had a lot of help with it. Yours, especially. It's made it a bit easier to handle."

She smiled.

"You're a remarkable young man."

By now even his hair was blushing, and Ian looked like he wanted crawl under the blankets and hide. Taking pity on him, Sam changed the subject a little.

"So… what are you getting Cassie for graduation?"

He shook his head.

"I don't have a clue. What did Jack get you for Mother's day?"

That might give him some idea of what he might be able to get Cassie – Mother's Day presents were pretty sappy, after all, and he wanted something sappy for Cassie.

Sam switched Jake over to the other arm again – even though it hadn't dried off yet – and held up her hand, showing off the ring on her finger.

"It's a mother's ring," she explained. "That's my birthstone in what will be the middle, and Jacob's birthstone on the side of it."

"Where's Jack's?" Ian asked, curiously.

Sam smiled.

"It's only for a mother and the kids from what Jack told me."

"Huh." He looked at the ring, and had to admit it was a pretty nice present. "That's a pretty good present…"

"Actually," she said, still smiling. "The ring was from Jacob here. Jack's present was an overnight trip to a bed and breakfast."

Well, that certainly wasn't an option for a present for Cassie, Ian thought wryly. No more than a ring was.

"That's a pretty nice present, too."

Sam nodded.

"We'll have to wait until things are a little more settled before we can go, but it should be."

"You're taking Jake?"

"No. Want to baby sit?"

Ian paled, and Sam chuckled. That was pretty much the response she'd expected.

"I'll take that as a no…"

He looked at the baby in her arm.

"When he's older… like, say… 20… then I'll be happy to watch him."

"Janet already agreed to watch him – although we could use a dog sitter, too."

"I can do that."

Not that he didn't want to help out or anything… he just… well… babies and all… Jaffer would be a lot easier to watch.

"Do what?"

They both looked up as Jack entered the room, looking smug that he was out of bed and Ian was stuck in the infirmary.

"Ian's offered to watch Jaffer when we go out of town next weekend," Sam told him.

"Oh yeah?" Jack walked over and took Jacob from Sam, always more than willing to hold his son when the opportunity presented itself. "But not _Jake_?"

"Ian's afraid of Jake."

Ian scowled.

"No, I'm not. It's just…"

"That you're _afraid_ of him."

"He smells funny."

"He does not."

A distinctive odor suddenly reached all of them, and Ian made a face, looking at Jack.

"See what I mean?"


	27. 27

"Are you supposed to be in here?"

Ian looked up from the textbook he'd been reading – and the large bowl of pasta salad he'd been working his way through – and saw that General Hammond had entered the commissary and had walked up to the table he was sitting at without him even noticing. While it didn't surprise him that Hammond had been able to walk in without him noticing – he _had_ been reading, after all – it was surprising that the general was still on base. It was after 10PM, and he had pretty much assumed everyone had left for the night. He knew Jack and Sam had, because they'd stopped by the infirmary and told him goodbye – the same way Daniel had. He hadn't expected Hammond to actually do it, of course.

"The door was open," he said. And there wouldn't have been food in the little cellophane wrapped containers if they weren't expecting someone to eat it, right? Besides, it was hardly the first time Ian had made a late night raid on the commissary.

"Does Doctor Fraiser know you're not in your bed?"

"She's not here."

"So… _no_?"

Ian shook his head.

"The doctor on the night staff does, though."

Hammond knew that, actually, because the first place he'd gone when he'd gone looking for Ian was the infirmary, and the doctor in charge of the night crew had known exactly where to find Ian when he'd asked for him. Hammond had also asked if it was wise to allow Ian out of his bed, but the doctor had assured him that the cadet was going to be released the next morning any ways, and he'd shown no sign of the exhaustion that had plagued him for the last few days. He was fine. And he'd been hungry and restless, and had given his word that he would return if he felt dizzy or sick, and would be back in his bed by 2300.

"Can I join you?"

Ian nodded, and pushed aside the empty plastic dishes that were strewn around the table he was sitting at. From the looks of things, Hammond could see the boy had pretty much decimated the selections of food in the cooler, because there were plates that had each held a serving of some kind of cake, plates that had held sandwiches, two bowls that had probably held jell-o, one with pudding, one of soup, a plastic wrapper that proudly displayed it had held cookies, but now simply held crumbs. Obviously Ian was making up for lost time by trying to cause a famine somewhere else.

The general sat down, and reached for the bag of potato chips that hadn't been touched yet – probably overlooked, he decided -and opened it.

"What are you reading?"

"A Physics test I'll be taking next week for finals."

"Interesting stuff?"

"Yeah, actually…"

Ian looked a little wary, now, as if he wasn't exactly sure what the general wanted. Hammond knew it wasn't his rank that was making the boy nervous – Ian never worried about rank, after all.

"You're something of a problem for me, Ian," Hammond said, deciding that he might as well not beat around the bush.

Ian nodded, but didn't say anything – although he did put down his fork. A sure sign that he was paying attention. Hammond munched another chip as he put his thoughts together. Ian was a young man – and easily put on the defensive, as everyone liked to remind him. Of course, Hammond remembered a time when he had been like that as well, so it was hardly shocking.

"I'm tempted to keep you here on earth, Ian," he said, finally. "With the knowledge of the Ancients stuck in your head we're going to be running the risk of losing valuable information – information that we might need for whatever it is that's ahead of us – every time you were to go offworld."

He saw the hurt in Ian's eyes long before he'd even finished speaking, and Hammond gave a purely mental sigh.

"However, Colonel O'Neill and the rest of SG-1 insist that you are just as valuable to them offworld – especially in light of the knowledge you now carry. Say they were to run into the one thing we really needed – and they didn't know what it was, but could have figured it out with your help… Which of course, leads me to the problem."

"Sir?"

He wasn't sure if that meant he was going to be stuck on earth, or allowed to leave, and the confusion was plain in his expression.

"It's a catch-22, Ian. If I keep you here where you'll be safe, it's possible we could miss something offworld, and if I allow you offworld, and something happens to you, then we still lose the benefit we've gained by having the knowledge of the Ancients in your head."

"Yeah…"

"Of course, I _could_ order you to stay here and help Major O'Neill in the lab with her-"

"If I'd wanted to be a _scientist_, I would have gone to MIT."

Hammond frowned.

"Don't interrupt me, Cadet."

"Sorry."

He didn't sound particularly sorry, but Hammond nodded anyways.

"This is the Air Force. You'll do as you're told."

Ian scowled, but he didn't say anything, and the general knew he was losing the train of the conversation and getting into the territory he'd wanted to avoid. The cadet was now on the defensive, and although this _was_ the Air Force and he _was_ going to do what he was told, Hammond knew there were different degrees of obedience – like obeying an order to the letter, or obeying one to the best of your ability. He wanted Ian's best of ability – and he wasn't going to get that if the boy was angry or nursing a grudge.

After a moment, when he was certain Ian wasn't going to say something they'd both regret, Hammond continued.

"I'm inclined to agree with Colonel O'Neill. While I would feel a lot better knowing that you're safe here on the base, I'm also of the mindset that there is more reason to allow you to continue with SG-1. For now, anyways. We need to find ways of protecting the earth from whatever's coming – whether it's the Goa'uld, or something or someone else – and we're not going to find them sitting on our asses safe here on the base."

"So I get to continue with SG-1?"

Hammond nodded.

"As long as you give me your word that you're not going to do anything stupid and get yourself killed."

While he couldn't hold him to that promise if something happened, of course, it would at least make Ian stop and think before doing anything reckless. Hopefully.

"Yes, Sir."

"And you'll do whatever Colonel O'Neill tells you to while you're offworld."

Since he did that anyways, it was hardly a terrible promise to have to make. Ian nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't make me regret this decision, Ian."

"I won't, General Hammond."

"Good." The general stood up, with the bag of chips still in his hand. "I'll see you in the morning in the briefing room with the rest of SG-1 – 0900 hours."

"Yes, sir."

"Unless Doctor Fraiser says otherwise, of course."

There was always the chance his stomach would explode from all the food he'd eaten, after all.

"Yes, sir."


	28. 28

"Is _he_ alright?"

Janet smiled at the exasperated tone of Hammond's voice, and looked over her shoulder at Ian, who was wolfing down his second helping of breakfast.

"He's fine, Sir. Remember, he hasn't eaten in a few days – and I have a feeling that his body is trying to make up for whatever it might have used up when he healed Colonel O'Neill. And there is the fact that he's a young man and they generally try to eat as much as they can most of the time, anyways."

Hammond had told her about the meal Ian had had the night before – although he didn't discuss the conversation he and the cadet had had – and Janet had simply nodded She'd expected that much once the night doctor had told her he'd allowed Ian to go off to the commissary for a while the evening before. It wasn't like there was all that much to choose from at night in the commissary after all.

Hammond looked at his watch.

"Don't let him forget about the meeting."

Like Ian ever forgot anything? She didn't say that, though. Instead she nodded.

"We'll be there, sir."

Hammond nodded, glanced over at Ian once more and then walked out of the infirmary, shaking his head in amazement.

OOOOOOO

"Okay, now that we're all here…" there was a slight pause as everyone looked at Jack, who gave them all an innocent look.

"What? I had to finish up the… doohickey I was… working on…"

Meaning he'd been distracted by Jake, who had been simply minding his own business sleeping. Jack could easily spend long periods of time watching his son sleep and lose track of time. Sam smiled, and turned her attention back to Hammond, who hadn't believed a word of it, of course.

The general turned to Ian.

"So… what all does this Ancient's knowledge do?"

Ian had anticipated the question, but he didn't have much of an answer – at least not an answer anyone would like.

"Not a whole lot, I'm afraid…"

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked before Hammond could. "You can heal and you know all about their technology and-"

"I can _heal_ because I was desperate and forced the information out," Ian said. "The rest of it only comes and goes when I'm not thinking about it – kind of like day dreams, I suppose. Most of it's in my head, but I don't actively have it down or anything. It's not like I learned it, so I have to think about it – or have something remind me of it – before I realize I know it… If that makes any sense…"

It was pretty clear it didn't, at least not to most of the room, but Sam was nodding.

"When you learn something the normal way, you've studied it and it's already passed through your conscious mind. This information went straight to your subconscious mind by way of the download, so your conscious mind isn't even aware of its existence until something triggers it in the subconscious… right?"

Ian nodded, glad that Sam could explain it since he wasn't the best at that kind of thing. He didn't have the patience for explaining – as Cassie had learned long before when he started helping her with her homework.

"Yeah."

"But you knew the coordinates to the place you think is Atlantis," Daniel said.

"I saw them being dialed, Daniel," he said. "I know them because I watched it."

"What if we showed you a series of gate symbols?" Daniel asked. "Think you could put them together to make an address?"

"I don't know. Probably not."

"You said you could probably build one of those power devices that Colonel O'Neill built when he had the Ancient's memories in his mind," Hammond said. "Do you still think you could?"

Ian nodded. He'd actually been thinking about it – and he'd seen the dead one jack had built, so he had already had that particular memory triggered.

"I'm pretty sure I could."

"So we could go there," Daniel said.

Ian scowled. Daniel was like a dog with a bone sometimes, and they'd already had this conversation.

"I told you… I didn't see a DHD in that other city – and I can't guarantee that there is one. I do know there's no one there, and that means no one to help us figure out how to get back without one."

"You have the knowledge of the Ancient's in your head," Daniel said, pressing the issue. "If we went, you could probably figure out a way for us to get back."

"I can't pull technology out of my a-"

"That's a risk I'm not willing to take, Doctor Jackson," Hammond said, interrupting. "There's no way I'm going to send anyone someplace without knowing how to get them back."

"But-"

"No, Doctor Jackson."

Daniel sighed, and Sam gave him a sympathetic mile while Janet turned her attention to Ian, now. She, too, had a few questions that she wanted answered.

"What about this healing thing?"

"What about it?" Ian asked.

"What can you do with it?"

He shrugged.

"I'm not sure what you mean…" Hadn't she already seen what he could do?

"We know you can heal wounds…" she said, understanding what he was asking. "Can you heal sick people?"

"I don't know."

"What about congenital diseases?" Daniel asked.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"The Ancients might be able to, but as close as I can figure, what I do is simply remind the body what it's supposed to be like. In a congenital thing – such as a deformity or something – the body had _always_ been like that, so that's how it remembers being." It was something he'd thought about, too. "And I can't grow back something that's gone – like an amputated leg or something."

"What did you do to Jake?" Jack asked, addressing the issue of his son for the first time.

Ian shrugged, looking away.

"I just finished what wasn't done…"

"That's it?"

"I think so… He already had everything where it was supposed to be... I just, fixed it and made it work like it was supposed to. I'm not sure, exactly. It was the first time I'd done something like that – and I wasn't really at my best just then."

Which was an understatement.

Sam smiled, because she didn't care. Jacob was perfect as far as she was concerned – and a lot better off than he might have been.

"He's fine, Ian."

"Better than fine," Janet said, agreeing.

"Well…" Hammond turned the attention of the meeting back to himself, and when everyone had looked at him, he looked at Ian.

"I don't want you experimenting on your own on this, all right? Before you find yourself building something that pops into your head, talk to me and clear it first. Understood?"

Ian nodded.

"And in the event that we need your ability to heal, you're to place yourself at Doctor Fraiser's disposal if an emergency comes up."

"But you have to be _careful_," Sam said. "Like Dotty warned you." She was also looking at Hammond and Janet, reminding both of them that Ian could easily find himself in danger if they tried to use him too much.

"We'll make sure he doesn't do anything foolish, Sam." Janet assured her.

Jack snorted.

"Good luck."


	29. 29

_Author's Note: in answer to a review question (what's the other secrets?) the answer is that we also found out about Jaffer's relationship with Alexander. That's the other secret; Alexander's._

OOOOOOOOOO

"You know… when we get to Cassandra's you're going to have to get into the back…"

Jaffer looked over at Ian, snorted, and then turned back to flirting with the girl in the car next to them. The girl – a young, dark-haired girl of maybe eighteen with several friends in the car – was more interested in the driver of the convertible than the dog sitting in the passenger seat, but Ian was ignoring them and Jaffer was more than willing to use Ian's good looks to get the attention of a cute girl – even a car full of them.

"What's your dog's name?" The girl asked, ignoring the giggles of the girl sitting beside her.

Ian scowled, and wondered if he should have left the top up. Since they were stopped at a red light, though, there was no way he could pretend he hadn't heard her. Jaffer wagged his tail harder, and Ian sighed.

"Rover."

"He's cute."

The girl in the passenger seat giggled again, and Ian rolled his eyes – although they couldn't see it behind the dark sunglasses he was wearing.

"What kind of dog is he?" Asked one of the girls in the back seat.

"A Dalmatian."

The light turned green and Ian gave a relieved sigh and turned left. Jaffer sighed as well, watching as the car filled with admiring girls went straight, and Ian reached over and slapped his shoulder.

"You can do better."

Jaffer rumbled a cheerful growl deep in his throat, and turned back to the passing traffic, obviously looking for the next person to flirt with, and Ian shook his head.

"Fine, don't listen to me."

Ten minutes later he pulled to a stop in front of the Fraiser's house, and put the car in park. While he was getting out, the door opened and Cassie came out to stand on the front porch, watching as he let Jaffer out of the car. Jaffer rushed over to greet her – and to see if she had anything for him to eat – and Ian followed at a slightly more sedate pace.

"Hi, Cassandra," he said when he reached her, leaning over and brushing a kiss against her cheek. "Are you ready?"

She smiled, and nodded, taking his hand as Jaffer crowded past her and into the house.

"We just have to let mom know you're here."

There was a crash as something inside fell over, and Janet Fraiser's voice yelling Jaffer's name with a definite exasperated tone.

"She knows."

The two of them headed into the house as well, and Ian called Jaffer to his side so he wouldn't knock over anything else. On the floor by the sofa was the telephone – in two pieces – and Ian bent over and picked it up as Janet reached for Jacob, who had been sitting on the sofa surrounded by pillows to keep him from falling and was now swarmed by Jaffer, who was very excited to see his baby.

"Hey, Doctor Fraiser," Ian said, looking at the phone to see if it was broken or merely separated from its handset. "Sorry about that."

Janet shook her head.

"No harm done, Ian. Where are you two – _three_ – heading?"

Ian smiled at the reminder that he wasn't going to leave Jaffer with Janet.

"The park. Want to come?"

"Thank you, but no. Emmett's coming over and we're going to take Jake out shopping."

"Like mom _ever_ needs an excuse to go shopping," Cassie said, grinning and taking the baby for just a minute to cuddle him. Jacob didn't mind at all. He was used to being handed around, and he loved to be held – although his brown eyes were now on Ian, who smiled, but simply reached out and touched the baby's cheek. He didn't want to hold him.

"And you do?" Janet asked, arching a brow.

"Well… no…" Cassie admitted, handing Jake back to her mom. "Of course, it only makes sense I suppose."

Janet smiled.

"Don't be gone too long."

"We won't."

"And drive safely, Ian."

"Yes, ma'am."

Like he ever needed reminding when it came to driving carefully with someone else in his car? Although when he was alone, it was another matter entirely

"Let's go," Cassie said, taking his hand again and heading for the door before her mom could give Ian the whole lecture on driving carefully.

Ian called Jaffer to his side, and the lab reluctantly left Janet's side – Jake was his responsibility, after all and he didn't really want to leave him – and joined Ian and Cassandra, rushing out and jumping into the convertible without waiting for Ian to open the door.

"Back seat, mister," Ian said.

Jaffer rumbled again.

"I mean it."

The lab turned his head, ignoring Ian, and Cassie laughed. Reaching over, she rubbed the lab's ears the same way Sam did, and murmured sweet little nothings to him for a minute.

"Come on, Jaffer… let me have the front seat, huh?"

Bah.

He was no better at ignoring her than Ian was, and the black lab hopped into the back seat while Ian opened the door for Cassie.

"How has he been?" She asked, curiously.

"Pretty good. Since I'm staying at Sam and Jack's I don't have to worry about him eating anything of Daniel's that he shouldn't – so that's a relief."

"And their yard is fenced."

"Yeah." He went around and got behind the wheel of the car, and rested his hand for a minute on her thigh. Not groping, of course, just touching her and being with her. Cassie knew this, and she rested her hand over his. "Where do you want to go for lunch?"

"You choose."

He hated it when she did that to him, and she knew it – which was, of course, why she did it. Cassie smiled, just a little impishly, and Ian turned his hand over and took hold of hers. He wasn't really the sappiest guy in the world, but he was well aware that their time together was precious – since she was going to be going away in the fall (and would probably find someone new at college who wasn't the jerk he was), so he was going to make the most of the time they had.

"Why don't we go get something portable, and take it to the park and have a picnic?"

That wasn't the answer she'd expected, but it was a good one. Cassie smiled.

"Sounds great."

They'd have plenty of time alone if they did that – and wouldn't have to worry about sitting in a crowded restaurant on such a beautiful day. She let go of his hand, since he needed it for shifting, and put her hand on his leg instead.

As Ian started the car, Jaffer turned to look at the cars coming down the road toward them. One of them had to have someone he could flirt with in it, after all!


	30. Epilgue

**Epilogue**

"You have a _lovely_ home, Mrs. Foutch."

The woman smiled at the compliment and invited them into the main living room.

"Thank you, Mrs. O'Neill. Please, feel free to explore it to your hearts content during your stay. We love to answer questions about the history of the house – and even some of the more famous guests we've had staying with us. Do you know that _seven_ different presidents have stayed in the room you and your husband will be sleeping in?"

Sam shook her head.

"I didn't, no." She smiled at Jack, putting her hand in his once more at the reminder of just what a nice place this was.

The mansion that housed the bed and breakfast he'd brought her to had been built at the turn of the last century. It was – as she'd read in the brochure – an incredible mix of architecture, history and elegance, and the place was huge and spotless. The great hall – the first room they'd entered after having been met at the curb by a valet intent on taking their luggage to their room, a valet intent on taking the truck so Jack wouldn't have to park it, and another valet – who called himself the butler – who had brought them in to the house to meet their hostess – was only the first of what would undoubtedly be countless amazing rooms. Especially since the main living room was just as huge and elegant – and somehow still managed to be homey and comfortable. There were several sofas, a couple of recliners, and a love seat. There was no television around which these furnishings were gathered. Instead there was a huge fireplace that wasn't lit just then, but probably would be before the evening was through.

"Well, they _have_," Mrs. Foutch assured her with another smile. "Let me show you two to your room so you can have a chance to relax before dinner. Or if you prefer, you can always have dinner brought up to you…"

She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she lead them towards a huge staircase – _marble_, no less – and started up the stairs at a slow enough pace that Jack and Sam could take in the view the stairs afforded them of the main dining room and part of the main living room.

"This place is amazing," Sam whispered to Jack. "How did you find it?"

He smiled, his brown eyes warm and only for her. He'd been worried that she was going to balk at leaving Jacob for even a weekend, and was exceptionally pleased with himself that he'd found a place so amazing that even his Sam was impressed by it.

"I asked around… this place was at the top of everyone's list…"

"I can't believe you managed to get us a room…"

A place this nice had to have a waiting list a mile and a half long – and probably cost a small fortune. Jack just shook his head, his smile more mischievous, now. He loved having his little secrets, after all. And she didn't need to know just how hard he'd worked to get them their room.

"Let's just say someone owed me big time – and now they don't."

She didn't press, knowing he liked having his little secrets and unwilling to ruin it for him Besides, they had reached the top of the stairs, now, and their guide/hostess was showing them into the first door on the left at the top of the hall.

"Oh, my…"

The room was even lovelier than the rest of the house. A small foyer opened up to the main bedroom area, where there were two dressers – his and hers – and a huge bed that dominated the rest of the room. The large windows were opened, letting in the late spring breeze as the gossamer curtains danced lazily with every slight gust. It was light and airy and Sam could easily believe that presidents had stayed there.

Mrs. Foutch was obviously used to such reactions. She merely smiled, and handed Jack the key to the room. "I'll let you explore the rest of the room yourself," she told them. "Your things have already been brought up and unpacked, so you might need a minute to look through them and make sure they're where you want them to be. Dinner is at seven, and while many will dress formal, it's by no means necessary to." She pointed to a phone on the stand by the bed. "If you need anything, dial 0 for the operator, and we'll be happy to help you – and all calls will be automatically forwarded to you if someone calls for you."

"Thank you," Jack told her, knowing that Sam would feel better knowing that. He, of course, already did. He'd explained to Mrs. Foutch that this was their first time away from their new baby, and that Sam might be a little nervous if they didn't have easy phone access, and the older woman had put his worries to rest immediately, saying she'd make sure there was nothing to panic about.

"Enjoy your stay with us."

She left them alone, then, and closed the door behind her, and Sam turned to Jack.

"You're an amazing man, you know that?"

He smiled, and pulled her into his arms, brushing a kiss against her cheek.

"I've heard rumors…"

Sam chuckled and pulled away, taking his hand and leading him around the room as she explored the huge bathroom – complete with indoor hot tub, and not just one, but _two_ walk-in closets, where their scant amounts of clothing were hanging already.

"You're spoiling me outrageously," she said as they completed the tour of the room. Their own private sanctuary.

Jack shrugged.

"You deserve it." He kicked off his shoes and pushed them under the bed where they wouldn't get tripped over. "You've been very busy the last few months – and before that – and I think you need a chance to relax and be pampered."

She smiled and hugged him close.

"You're not worried about leaving Jaffer with Ian?"

Jack shook his head.

"Ian has a lab. He knows how deceitful they can be. Jaffer's in good hands."

"And Jake?"

Jack smiled, and kissed Sam softly.

"Who's your best friend? The one person you trust with everything that is dear and loved to you? And just so happens to be arguably the most talented doctor in the world?"

"Janet."

"Who is now watching our son with just as much care as you and I could give him – minus the whole breast-feeding thing, which _I_ can't do, either."

Sam smiled, although there was just a slight cloud of anxiety in her expression at the thought of not being there in case Jacob needed her.

"What if something happens?"

"Nothing's going to happen."

"What if something _does_?" She pressed, suddenly anxious.

Jack cuddled her close.

"Even if Janet suddenly lost all motor skills completely, and something actually _did_ happen – say she even managed to drop Jake on his head or something – what do you think she'd do?"

"Call us?"

He shook his head, smiling.

"She'd call _Ian_ – who is probably hanging out with Cassie, anyways, and well within calling distance – and Ian would come over, and put his hand on Jake's little bumped head and in an instant, Jake would be fine. Right?"

What was the use of having Ian's healing ability at their disposal if he couldn't use it to reassure Sam?

She nodded, just like he knew she would. They both knew that Ian wasn't going to be too far away from Cassie that weekend and that Cassie always carried a cell phone, even if Ian hardly ever remembered his. Janet would have no trouble getting hold of him if she needed him – although Jack was certain nothing would happen. Janet was far too responsible for that.

"And then Ian would eat everything in sight and take a nap – which would still put him close by in case Janet needed him," Jack finished. "So relax, Sam. Jake's fine."

She nodded, feeling just a little guilty for worrying so much when he was obviously trying so hard to get her to have a good time.

"I'll try."

"You do that."

He kissed her softly, and she felt a different kind of tension completely. They had all weekend. Nothing would interrupt their private time. No work. No baby. No concerns about anyone or anything. It was just the two of them – and it was just a little intoxicating to someone who hadn't had the chance to be the center of anything since the birth of the baby. She returned his kiss with an enthusiasm that left him breathless – and his heart racing.

"I don't know about you, Colonel O'Neill," she said, pulling back and smiling at the effect she had on him – God, she loved him so much. "But I wouldn't mind a long hot soak before dinner."

And if something else happened while they were soaking… well… dinner could always wait. Right?

Jack smiled, nodded his agreement, and allowed her to lead him into the bathroom.

"If you wash my back, I'll wash yours…"

**The End!**

_Author's note: We probably didn't need to go much further into that particular area, after all!_

_So what did you think? Liked it? Hated it? Interesting? Boring? Let me know! I loved writing it, just so you know, because I've been holding onto those secrets for a long time, now and it was fun to reveal some of them!_


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